People young and old got to experience the new tidal steps at Tauranga's revamped waterfront at the weekend.
The popularity of new tidal steps on Tauranga's waterfront is a dream come true for organisers celebrating the project's fruition more than two years after it was suggested.
The $3.2 million pier, pontoon and tidal steps, which creep down into Tauranga Harbour from The Strand, were officially opened on Saturday.Hundreds turned out for the festivities, which included a bomb competition complete with prize packs.
Tauranga City Council city transformation general manager Jaine Lovell-Gadd said up to 400 people packed out the area, and it was heartening to see the popular end result of what was initially an idea from the community. She later amended this to 4000 people.
"It was held outside of the traditional summer time here and I'd have to say there was the mix of people - from little kids getting their feet wet to grandma on her mobility scooter. It seemed like everyone got out which was our intention, that everyone was involved."
Ms Lovell-Gadd said some people told her they had not been into the CBD in a long time.
"They said 'this drew us into the city'. They said 'we haven't been here for a while, it's something to do and the city feels safe because there's so many people in and around it'."
Ms Lovell-Gadd was over the moon with the response to the new-look waterfront.
"When we started the project we went to people and asked 'what do you want in your city?' Everyone said 'access to water'. They said 'at the moment we can't get to the water' so tidal steps is a way of getting people out to the water, whether that's through bombs or standing in the water or on boats. That's what they wanted."
The project came in on time and on budget and was part of a wider $8m plan to upgrade the central city over five years.
Deputy mayor Kelvin Clout said when the council first made the decision in December 2015 to go ahead with the project, he was not sure how it would go down.
There was plenty of bombing talent on offer as crowds gathered for the official opening of Tauranga's new tidal stairs at the waterfront. Photo/Richard Robinson Photography
"I'm really proud of what we've achieved. When you first do something like this, you never know how it will be received but I was confident that the people of Tauranga would warm to this. But this has proven to be the case far beyond what I thought," he said.
"People are saying this is something that should have happened a long time ago."
Mr Clout said the Tauranga Harbour was such a valuable asset to the city, it seemed silly not to have access to it.
Councillor Leanne Brown said she was there for several hours and the atmosphere was "just awesome".
"Kids of all ages were super excited about the bombing, parents were happy, Hairy Maclary and his friends were inundated and the playground was a hive of activity," she said.
"The whole waterfront was buzzing with activity and happy people - just how I hoped it would be."
The path to the tidal steps
- The council's Long Term Plan 2015-2025 allocated $8m, to be spent in the first five years, for city centre and waterfront development to improve the streetscape, waterfront and open spaces in the heart of the city.
- The access to water project was developed in parallel with the Tauranga City Centre Spatial Framework - a visual representation of what we want our public spaces, streets and waterfront to be. A big part of this is the reconnection with water and access to the water.
