The Kāpiti Coast ExpressDay
Saturday 18 February 2017
10am-3pm
The Mackays to Peka Peka Expressway is nearly ready to open to traffic, so the M2PP team would like to invite you to the Kāpiti Coast ExpressDay - your chance to experience part of the Expressway before it opens to traffic later in February.
Walk or bus 5 kilometres of Expressway between Te Roto Drive in Paraparaumu, or Te Moana Road in Waikanae. Thanks to the generosity of Mana Coach Services ExpressTours will run from both sites throughout the day.
The ExpressDay route is open to pedestrians and mobility scooters/wheelchairs on one side and tour buses on the other side. People can also choose to try out 5ks of shared pathway alongside the Expressway.
Start your journey at either Te Roto Drive in Paraparaumu for fun and entertainment, or Te Moana Road in Waikanae, for education and expert speakers.
There’ll be something for all tastes at both sites, including Kāpiti food trucks.
What’s on
Get a taste of some of the key attractions . The full programme will be out in the local papers and online from 15 February.
ExpressTours
Take an educational loop route tour 15-minutes north and 15-minutes south along a 5k section of the new Expressway – with an onboard M2PP ExpressGuide. Ride the full loop or hop on or off at either Te Roto Drive or Te Moana Road.
So take a MANA bus to the ExpressDay and take one ON the Expressway before it opens to traffic.
Dos and don’ts on ExpressDay – our house rules
Please – no furry friends
To help keep everyone safe on the day, we’re asking you to please leave your furry friends at home or with a friend while you come and check out the Expressway. That includes not riding horses on the shared pathway.
Bicycles – please use the shared pathway
People can walk or ride the tour buses on the road on ExpressDay.
We’re asking people who’d like to use their bikes that day, to use the shared pathway alongside the road. The pathway will be open to bike-riders and walkers along the same five kilometre route.
The Makarini footbridge
The Makarini Footbridge WON’T be available to use on the day to access the Expressway or shared pathway, so if you’re heading to the ExpressDay, please take this into consideration when planning how you get there.
On the buses
The same rules apply as when you normally catch a bus - no food and drinks please, but a bottle of water is OK. The buses have access ramps and some will be able to carry passengers using mobility scooters/wheelchairs. If you’re bringing a pram and want to use the buses, try and bring one that folds easily and doesn’t take up too much space.
Plan your travel
To make the most of the ExpressDay, plan ahead and think about how you’re going to get there. If you live out of town, think about jumping on a train and then catching the bus to one of the ExpressDay Zones.
If you live close, why not walk down?
If you need to drive: Where to park - main parking is at Te Roto Drive, Paraparaumu. There’ll also be some limited parking at Te Moana Road, Waikanae (so if you do drive think about heading to Te Roto Drive and walk or bus up to the Te Moana Zone. And if you’re driving, get your friends or family together and carpool. carpool. Our Te Roto Zone is where the main parking is, so if you do choose to drive, it’s best to head to this zone and then walk or bus down to the Te Moana Zone.
Gold coin for a good cause
The Kāpiti Coast ExpressDay is proudly supporting Kāpiti Youth Services (KYS) and Mary Potter Hospice, who’ll have volunteers greeting you on the day. Your gold coin entry donation will go to these two fantastic charities to help them with the work they do in our community.
What you need to know
- Check the weather on the day and if you’re planning to hang out all day, make sure you slip, slop and slap. If the weather isn’t right on the 18th the plan is to hold the ExpressDay on the 19th.
- If you’re planning to walk the 5km, make sure you wear comfy shoes – trainers/sneakers are best
- Fantastic food trucks will be selling food, and while some will have Eftpos, it’s best to bring cash along just in case
Key attractions
Te Roto Zone will feature local talent and entertainers, diggers and dozers, classic and electric cars, face painting and more in the Kids Zone. Our MC is comedian and actor, Cohen Holloway and the Hits radio station will be broadcasting live from the site.
At the Te Moana Zone there’ll be Expressway experts sharing their stories about construction and more and the Expressway 101 tent will be the place to find out more about how you’ll use the Expressway and revisit some of the Mackays to Peka Peka construction, environmental and archaelogical stories.
There’ll also be project people from the Peka Peka to Ōtaki and Transmission Gully projects to answer your questions and tell you more. Kāpiti Coast District Council will be there and BeachFM will be live broadcasting throughout.
Look out for the full programme…
… coming soon in Kāpiti News and the Kāpiti Observer.