Tauranga City Council is looking to renege on a prior agreement to pay their share of the Tauranga Moana cycle trail from Omokoroa to Ngatai Road.

Councillors voted six-to-four against providing $500,000 for the project on the grounds that the government should be paying for the national trail, with council money being spent on cycle trails within the city.

Tauranga city's current commitment to cycle tracks.

The city section of the trail is from the Wairoa River to Ngatai Road, near Otumoetai Road, where it will connect up with the city cycle network. It is believed the Tauranga Energy Consumers Trust will pay for the bridge across the Wairoa River.

The decision is a turn-around on agreements made at the city council/Western Bay of Plenty Joint Governance Committee in August 2011.

The committee originally approved the section of the Tauranga Moana Coastal trail as a joint council project.

The trail was also in line to be included in the draft long term plan for funding and be supported as a priority joint council project for external funding applications.

The joint committee decision was made just days before Prime Minister John Key and the then Transport Minister, Gerry Brownlee, announced the availability of $100 million in new funding to accelerate cycleways in urban centres.

The estimated budget required to deliver the project within the city boundary is $1.5 million, or $500,000 over three years. The staff report expected funding would be split three ways between Tauranga City Council, NZTA, and the National Urban Cycleway Fund.

The lead agency for the overall delivery of the project is the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, which has committed $300,000 per annum in their draft long term plan.

The report writers say that without a financial commitment from Tauranga City Council, there will be a 'missing link' from the city side of the Wairoa River to Otumoetai.

Councillors have responded by saying while the trail is a great idea in principal, either the government should pay or they would have some serious financial decisions to make. They were also wary of throwing away $1.5 million at the start of the long term plan process.

Kelvin Clout says the two-thirds contribution by the government agencies is not to be sneezed at, and pushed for a reduced fee of $300,000, but the vote was still six-to-four against.

The staff report states that while Tauranga has a relatively low level of cycle commuters going to work, that doesn't reflect the high level of demand for recreational cycling in the city.

There are more than 4000 bicycles sold through specialist retailers in Tauranga every year. Most of these are sold to recreational cyclists, who are considered a key user group of the city's existing network.

A 2013 report from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) shows that businesses and communities in areas served by the New Zealand Cycle Trail (NZCT) are making great progress, with increased economic activity and more visitors to the trail regions.

The report shows that visitors using the NZCT are staying one-to-three nights and spending between $131 and $176 a day, per person.

Although these trails are still fairly new, they are making good progress in terms of job creation and contribution to the local economy. Interviews with trail managers, surveys of business owners and trail users and four cycle trail case studies were undertaken and included in the MBIE report.