Bridle Path walk tomorrow

Press, 13 December 1986, Page 9

Bridle Path walk tomorrow

The organisers of the annual Bridle Path Commemorative Walk tomorrow hope that this will be the last year that complaints are made about the condition of the track.

The Mayor of Lyttelton, Mr Mel Foster, said his council hoped to have the Bridle Path improved next year once its designation had been changed.

At the moment the Bridle Path is considered an open road with unlimited vehicle access.

Negotiations between the Heathcote County Council, the Lyttelton Borough Council, the Summit Road Society, and other interested parties would, it was hoped, result in the road’s being closed to general traffic, said Mr Foster. The Heathcote County Council, which is responsible for the Christchurch side. of the Bridle Path,

had already agreed in principle to close the road, said the County Clerk, Mr Pat Cooney. Access by adjoining property owners had to be considered, he said, and maintenance vehicles for the oil pipeline and electricity cables also had to be guaranteed access. Mr Cooney said the council hoped the Bridle Path would be designated as a reserve or historic walkway. The Summit Road Society had been complaining about the condition of the Bridle Path for several years now, said a spokesman, Mr John Jameson.

“It is an utter disgrace,” he said. “If somebody suffers a broken ankle on Sunday it won’t be a surprise to me.” Mr Foster said the Lyttelton Borough Council received comments like

this each year. “People making the annual walk know it is not a paved way,” he said. They should wear stout footwear.

Mr Foster hoped that by next year’s walk the road would be closed, and more improvements would be done. The Bridle Path Commemorative Walk on Sunday will begin from Ferrymead between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. It will end at the Lyttelton Borough Council chambers in London Street. A certificate will be issued to all who complete the walk. Buses will leave for Ferrymead at 12.25 p.m. from Cathedral Square and at 1 p.m. from Lyttelton. Buses will return from Lyttelton to both Ferrymead and the Square from about 3 p.m. onwards.