Tauranga cyclists feel less safe biking on roads and cycle lanes in the city, a council survey shows.

It comes as the city works to expand its cycleway network, with major projects on the horizon.

The Tauranga City Council annual residents’ survey 2025-26 report showed the proportion of respondents satisfied with the level of safety when cycling on roads or cycleways dropped from 56% to 45% over the year.

A council report said this had “decreased significantly”.

Safety perceptions particularly fell among 18-34-year-olds, and those in Mount Maunganui - the only ward where more than half of respondents said they cycled.

Citywide, 38% of respondents said they cycled, with 4% biking to work.

The city has 78.1km of on-road cycle lanes, 46.1km of shared paths, and 4.8km of separated cycle lanes, the council told Local Democracy Reporting.

Data from 25 council cycle counters recorded about 1.61 million trips in the year to June, up from about 1.4 million the prior year.

Counts dropped about 2% from March to May compared to that period last year, despite the fuel crisis.

The council said the most popular monitored cycling routes were Marine Parade, the Tauranga Harbour Bridge and Totara St.

Marine Parade had an average of 576 cyclist trips per day with an annual average count of 210,073.

Cycle lanes on Marine Parade are the most used in the city. Photo / Kelly O'Hara

The Mount beach area, city centre and schools were key cycling destinations.

Recent CCTV-based counts on Cameron Rd recorded an average of 184 cyclists per day over a year.

Prior to the residents’ survey results being released, Local Democracy Reporting asked councillors for their views on cycling in the city.

Deputy mayor and Mount Maunganui ward councillor Jen Scoular said she frequently used bike lanes, and tried to cycle from the Mount to the CBD at least three times a week.

“Every day that I bike, there is one less car on the road, one more carpark available.

“For me, it is not a pleasant activity and often feels dangerous if I bike on the road, rather than a cycle path.”

She said cycling was dangerous on the roads and cyclist deaths in the city “should be making NZTA and the council much more aware of the need for separate cycle lanes”.

Tauranga deputy mayor Jen Scoular using the Totara St cycle lane. Photo / Kelly O'Hara

She said Tauranga did not have a cycling strategy, but one was expected by the end of the year.

The newly built Maunganui Rd cycleway “didn’t work well”, in her view.

“Tauranga needs to really think hard about alternatives to just building new roads for cars.

“We all need to make changes because it’s not viable, from an economic and sustainability perspective, for us to just keep building new roads.”

Several other councillors said they regularly used the shared path network.

Te Papa ward’s Rod Taylor said it generally worked well, while Welcome Bay’s Hautapu Baker said he used it for running, walking or biking with his tamariki to and from local parks.

Bethlehem’s Kevin Schuler said he had bought an electric bike with the goal of cycling to work twice a week, inspired by colleagues.

Arataki’s Rick Curach had a nasty crash on his e-scooter in 2018, but it has not stopped him riding into the city centre.

“It’s an easy 20-minute trip along the Matapihi cycleway and saves lots of fuel and parking charges.”

The Wednesday Challenge encourages the use of low-emission and active transport modes.

Tauranga has 9049 people taking part this year, including 62 businesses, with 17% walking, 14% cycling, 15% driving part of the way then walking and 10% taking the bus.

Wednesday Challenge founder and director Heidi Hughes is a former city councillor.

Wednesday Challenge founder and director Heidi Hughes said many New Zealanders reconsidered how they travelled during the March fuel price spike.

Challenge participants in Tauranga logged 62% more trips in the first three months of 2026 compared to the same period last year.

She said many commuter cyclists preferred to ride on the road.

This included on Cameron Rd, with some participants viewing the new separated cycleway as unsuitable for commuting.

Cycle lanes on Cameron Rd. Photo / David Hall

Council acting head of transport Shawn Geard said while funding changes at a national level had affected the delivery of some planned cycleway projects, the council remained committed to improving safety and accessibility for people using active forms of transport.

It was investing in targeted improvements including safer crossings, shared paths, intersection upgrades, and school travel programmes.

“While the network continues to develop over time, regular investment in safety improvements helps reduce risks and can give people confidence that safe travel is a priority.”

Upcoming major transport projects, Cameron Rd stage two and 15th Ave to Welcome Bay, include on-road cycle lanes and shared-use paths.

These are planned for both sides of Cameron Rd from 17th Ave to Maleme St, as well as on 15th Ave and Turret Rd, with a clip-on cycling and walking path for Hairini Bridge.

Last week, councillors progressed the 15th Ave to Welcome Bay project to the next stage of design after a structural assessment found the bridge was strong enough to support proposed upgrades, including adding a third traffic lane.

Ayla Yeoman is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based in Tauranga. She holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in communications, politics and international relations from the University of Auckland, and has been a journalist since 2022.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.