Every dollar invested in Christchurch's proposed major cycleway network should give a $5 to $8 return, a city council report says.

The council asked transport planning consultants, Quality Transport Planning, to help put together a business case for the proposed major cycleway network, which has jumped in price from an original estimate of $69 million to $156m.

The company looked at the benefits the proposed network would bring, such as less road congestion, less pollution, faster journey times, fewer car crashes and improved health, and attached a monetary value to them.

Based on those calculations it believes the council's $156m investment should deliver more than $1.2 billion in benefits over a 40-year period.

Council transport network planning team leader Richard Holland said based on that cost-benefit ratio the council should easily qualify for funding from the both the New Zealand Transport Agency's national land transport fund and its $100 million urban cycleways fund.

That would help reduce the cost of the network to ratepayers, possibly by as much as 50 per cent.

Council infrastructure, transport and environment committee chairman Phil Clearwater said he was confident the council would get "very good assistance" from both the NZTA funds.

"I think the business case [for the network] is proven," Clearwater said.

READ MORE: Christchurch cycleways get $75,000 boost

Deputy mayor Vicki Buck said it would be interesting to analyse what the long-term costs to the city would be if the cycleway network was not constructed.

"We look at this as if it is a bold move but the cost of not going this… is probably at the cost of ruining the roads for every user," Buck said.

According to a report considered by Clearwater's committee almost a third of people in Christchurch not currently cycling would seriously consider doing so if they could travel safely.

The report said traffic modelling suggested that introducing a network of dedicated cycling routes, where cyclists were separated from other road users, would lead to a 138 per cent jump in cycling levels by 2031.

In actual trip numbers that represented a jump from 18 million cycling trips a year to 31 million trips a year. It was likely the length of the average cycle trip would also rise, from the average distance of 3.1 kilometres to 4.4 kilometres as more people cycled more often and further.

WHAT THEY WILL COST:

Avon Otakaro Route $20.6 million (original estimate $4.2m)

Heathcote Expressway $12 million ($7.8m)

Little River link $4.7 million ($2.4m)

Northern Line Cycleway $7.5 million ($6.7m)

Nor'West Arc $19 million ($8.6m)

Opawaho River Route $16 million ($3m)

Papanui Parallel $10 million ($3m)

Quarryman's Trail $17 million ($4.2m)

Rapanui Shag Rock Cycleway $19 million ($6.7m)

South Express $7 million ($12.6m)

Southern Lights $2 million ($2.9m)

Uni-Cycle $9 million ($1.9m)

Wheels to Wings $11 million ($4.3m)

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