Organisers of a popular cycle rally against Tauranga City Council's decision not to fund part of a cycleway are confident they have put forward a strong enough case for council to re-think its stance.

Yesterday more than 800 cyclists rode from Fergusson Park to The Strand to protest council's decision not to contribute its $500,000 share towards a cycleway linking Omokoroa to Otumoetai.

Cyclists take part in the Bay of Plenty Community Trails Trust cycle rally. Photos: Cameron Avery.

The development of the Tauranga Moana cycle trail is a joint venture between the Western Bay District Council and Tauranga City Council.

Lead agency on the project, WBOPDC has committed to paying $300,000 a year in its draft 10-year plan. However, TCC recently declined to fund their portion from Matua to the Wairoa River.

According to the Trust, unless TCC contributes, the Omokoroa-Tauranga link won't happen as other valuable funding avenues are lost.

Bay of Plenty Community Trails Trust member and event organiser Kevin Kerr says the rally's immense support should bode well heading into this week's Long Term Plan deliberations, which start tomorrow.

Of the 646 submissions, council received about 80 are on the subject of the Coastal Cycle Trail.

The majority of submissions seem to be in favour of council funding the Tauranga section of the project.

'I'd be pretty confident the rally is going to give council some hard thinking to carry on with,” says Kevin.

'You have to be confident that it would. Deputy Mayor Kelvin Clout spoke about it needing to happen and there were the two politicians [Tauranga MP Simon Bridges and Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller] saying that TCC need to change their view.”

The group coordinated the rally to coincide with the LTP deliberations in an effort to add extra weight to their argument.

Although Kevin admits he he was pleasantly surprised to get such a strong response from the community.

'I thought with these things you might get 200-300 people, but to get that number was hugely overwhelming,” he explains.

The proposed cycleway would link into the city's existing cycling network to form a continuous trail, stretching from Omokoroa to Matua and eventually extending out towards Paengaroa and the Tauranga Eastern Link.

Some 19 cycleways have been established around New Zealand from local and government funding.

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.

Kevin says Vanessa Quinn, former downhill mountain biking champion, perfectly summed up the need for the cycleway by highlighting the opportunity to link the coastal communities

'We have got lovely beaches,” she says, 'but in actual fact we don't have much else here. We have got a climate that is conducive right through the year for riding.

'Our coastal network, from Opotiki right up to Waihi, is amongst the best coastline in the country and we should be availing ourselves of that opportunity with these cycleways. The Tauranga to Omokoroa one is a good first start.”

SunLive is currently seeking comment from Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby on the cycle rally and the LTP.