NZTA Accused of Holding Manawatū Rail Trail Hostage Unless Horse Riders Are Excluded!

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The New Zealand Equestrian Advocacy Network (NZEAN) is questioning New Zealand Transport Agency’s decision to require horse riders be excluded from the proposed City to Sea Rail Trail in Manawatū as a condition of granting the project permission to proceed.

The City to Sea Rail Trail will transform the former Foxton railway corridor into a 31km shared-use recreational trail connecting Longburn, Himatangi and Foxton. The trail is intended to become part of a wider regional network linking communities throughout Manawatū and beyond.

Since its inception, the project has been designed as an inclusive community asset, accommodating walkers, cyclists, mobility users and horse riders.

However, NZTA has reportedly made the Licence to Occupy required for the project conditional upon horse riders being excluded from the trail.

NZEAN Chair Shelly Warwick says the decision is difficult to justify when NZTA already permits horse riders on other shared-use pathways around New Zealand.

"NZTA has successfully managed shared-use pathways that include horse riders for years. The Kapiti Expressway Shared Path has safely accommodated horse riders, carriage drivers, cyclists and pedestrians since 2017."

"If this model works in Kapiti, NZTA needs to explain why a completely different standard is suddenly being applied in Manawatū."

Warwick says the City to Sea Rail Trail is the latest example of a nationwide pattern in which horse riders are excluded from public infrastructure without any publicly available evidence that their presence creates greater safety risks.

"Time and again, NZTA excludes horse riders from off-road infrastructure while providing no safety assessments, no research and no evidence to support those decisions."

"How can an agency responsible for transport safety continue making decisions that affect vulnerable road users without producing the evidence that supposedly justifies them?"

Horse riders have used the former railway corridor alongside State Highway 56 for decades and are long-established users of the route. There have never been any incidents.

In addition, there is currently no bylaw prohibiting horses, cattle, sheep, pigs or other animals from moving along the former railway corridor. This was confirmed by both NZTA and Manawatū District Council when the Rail Trail Committee sought clarification about whether a farmer could be prevented from moving cattle along the route. The response was clear: no such prohibition exists.

NZEAN is calling on NZTA to publicly release any safety assessments, risk analyses, research, legal advice or policy framework that support the decision to exclude horse riders from the City to Sea Rail Trail and other shared-use pathways around New Zealand.

"We have repeatedly asked for evidence demonstrating that excluding horse riders improves safety. To date, none has been produced."

"What evidence exists to show horse riders are less safe on a shared-use trail than they are on a state highway?"

NZEAN argues that horse riders are the only vulnerable road-user group routinely denied access to separated off-road infrastructure.

"Pedestrians, cyclists and mobility users are rightly provided with dedicated facilities that improve their safety. Horse riders are repeatedly directed back onto roads and highways, often alongside fast-moving traffic, despite the obvious risks."

Warwick says this approach is also evident on the Ōtaki to North Levin Expressway project, where NZTA has refused equestrian access to the shared pathway and instead expects horse riders to use the road network once the expressway is operational, 100km/h busy roads with heavy traffic, what safety audits were undertaken to ascertain safety.

"The Minister of Transport and the Minister of Police have supported NZTA's position on the O2NL, despite NZEAN repeatedly seeking evidence that forcing horse riders onto roads is safer than allowing them to use off-road infrastructure."

"We have seen exactly the same approach on the Manawatū-Tararua Highway project."

Warwick says the issue extends well beyond one trail and raises serious questions about whether equestrians are receiving fair and equal consideration in transport planning.

"This project has received support from local councils, community organisations, cycling groups and equestrian organisations because it was designed to be inclusive."

"Excluding horse riders undermines that vision and sends a message that one group of vulnerable road users matters less than others." Warwick says.

NZEAN is calling on NZTA to apply consistent, legal and evidence-based standards when assessing access to public infrastructure and to ensure horse riders receive the same safety consideration afforded to other vulnerable road users.

"Safe off-road infrastructure should be available to everyone."

"Horse riders deserve the same consideration, the same protection and the same access as every other member of the community."

Warwick says NZTA is effectively holding a community-led, community-funded and inclusive project hostage unless one user group is excluded.

"We are fortunate that the City to Sea Rail Trail Committee and the wider community remain committed to inclusion."

"They have worked hard to create a trail that welcomes everyone.

NZTA now has an opportunity to demonstrate that it supports that vision rather than standing in its way."