Meadowbank's new boardwalk and nature track is popular, but it's made it difficult for locals to reach their much-loved swimming spot. Mind you, that's not the only problem, reports Rebecca Blithe.
Standing on the boardwalk that stretches across the eastern reserve of Orakei Basin next to a rail bridge, Coralie Beckham pauses mid-sentence, waiting for a train to roar past.
"We walked over that bridge," she says, pointing out the treacherous path over the tracks down to Purewa River.
Mrs Beckham has swum in the river all her life and watched as younger generations have discovered the pristine spot, separated from Orakei Basin by sluice gates.
"It's really clean water. It's a really special area, very special. It was great growing up here. We used to watch the watersports competitions [in Orakei Basin]. They'd have water-skiing with eight people all standing on each others shoulders.
"We used to have a flying fox running down there. It's a great public amenity," she says of the basin - Auckland's only fully sluice gate-controlled body of water where swimming and fishing is not allowed.
Mrs Beckham says the new walkway has increased use of the area tenfold but it has affected access to the river.
"There's a lot of families and people walking, runners and cyclists. You can walk right across for coffee at King's Plant Barn."
But of navigating a path to the river, she says: "This only cropped up as an issue when we realised the access was compromised. There's a locked gate and I think people are climbing over there.
"They're going to have a lot more to consider when those tracks are electrified. I'd like to see pedestrian access to the river."
Mrs Beckham voiced her concerns in a letter to Orakei Local Board chairwoman Desley Simpson, seeking "urgent attention before a serious accident occurs".
Ms Simpson says the board agrees that a suitable access point for the river needs to be bumped up the list of priorities.
"If it's indeed the case that kids are running across those tracks, that's not something that should be happening. It's even more concerning with plans for electrification [of the rail network]. What she [Mrs Beckham] wants to do is part of the action plan. It's a matter of giving it a higher priority," says Ms Simpson.
KiwiRail's public affairs manager for the Northern sector, Jenni Austin, was also concerned to hear of people crossing the tracks. She says anyone crossing at this point does so illegally.
"Rail corridors are not safe places to be and people should only cross railways at legitimate level crossings. Trains are usually faster and quieter than people realise.
"After 2013, once the new electric trains are in use, they will be even quieter and faster and there will be overhead wires adding to the overall risk."
She adds Kiwirail expects to install masts through the area in about 18 months.
Parks manager Ian Maxwell says people have been crossing the tracks to swim for years, but the issue has become visible because of new developments not providing a way to reach the river near the sluice gates.
"Despite lack of provision for access to the water on the Purewa Creek side of the sluice gates, people still expect to cross the railway lines to swim."
He says the council does not have the resources to carry out the investigation required, let alone the potential design and development of safe access to the water.
All along the watchtower
The name Purewa, given to the river and a road in Meadowbank, has been shortened from the original Maori word, "pourewa" meaning "watchtower''. It is believed Ngati Whatua built one in the area. For more info on Purewa River, email: enquiries@pourewa.com
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