Walk Tairua says safety path urgently needed

Cherry Ladd and Walk Tairua committee member sshow how dangerously close to vehicles the route from the new Grahams Stream bridge is. Photo / Alison Smith

Walk Tairua volunteers are wringing their hands over a new unsealed $23,000 path that leaves pedestrians still navigating a dangerous 70km section of state highway with no footpath.

They can't understand why Thames-Coromandel District Council has prioritised a path to a new pedestrian bridge on the "easy" part that didn't need a footpath.

The council says it went for the achievable side, since building a safe walking and cycling path on the dangerous end is estimated to cost $157,500 - more than the community board could afford.

The Grahams Stream bridge was opened last year by Waka Kotahi NZTA to give walkers and cyclists a safe alternative to playing chicken with traffic on a one-way bridge at SH25.

Walk Tairua says the Tairua-Pauanui Community Board has wasted money on a path leading to the bridge from the "safe" end - where it does not link to any existing footpath - when more dangerous sections of roading need paths.

"The northern side is wide, flat and mown," says Walk Tairua's Cherry Ladd. "The other side to the south is a walk almost on the carriageway. You'd be lucky if there was a metre in some places between the 70km/h highway and a ditch."

A hoggin path, about 90m in length, links the new Graham's Stream footbridge to Ocean Beach Rd, which has no footpaths. Hoggin is a compactable groundcover mixture of clay, gravel and sand or granite dust.

The cost was budgeted at $32,000 and came in at $23,700, and TCDC staff said the job was now finished: "The next phase is the southern side of the bridge but that will be staged over several years."

On community criticism of the $23,000 cost for the 90m unsealed path, he said: "It's not just TCDC, it's this much everywhere."

TCDC roading manager Ed Varley said because of topography, a new footpath between the end of the existing one on Tairua's Main Road and the new footbridge was estimated by the roading team to cost $157,500.

Tairua-Pauanui Community Board has a footpath budget of $31,300 for this year, $22,000 next year and $42,000 in 2023-24.

"The community board's budget for footpath construction has been allocated to the footpath on the north side of Grahams Stream, and exceeds what is available for further years, but the board and our council staff are currently exploring ways to arrive at an outcome that satisfies all," said Varley.

Walk Tairua member Ben Grubb said it appeared from emails with the council that communication had broken down between NZTA and TCDC over the timing of the bridge installation.

David Speirs, director regional relationships, Bay of Plenty & Waikato (Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency), said the agency gained funding approval for the footbridge at reasonably short notice, "so unfortunately, we weren't able to give the council as much notice as we would have preferred".

"We had hoped council might be able to fund a footpath connection through to the town centre, however it exceeded their budget, which is understandable."

TCDC's roading manager said while this was gratefully received, there was limited notice ahead of construction of the pedestrian bridge.

"Tairua-Pāuanui Community Board was able to reprioritise their footpath construction programme with the new footbridge ... [and] approved the footpath on the north side of Grahams Creek as this is achievable within the current budget for 2021-2023 financial years, even with the reduction of Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency's footpath and streetlight improvement funding to councils," he said.

In an email to the Walk Tairua group, TCDC staff said the council has no obligation to provide a continuation of the cycleway on SH25.

Varley recommended to the board that no additional council funds be spent on a cycleway on the highway.

Cherry Ladd said she could not imagine a more urgent need for a footpath than a new bridge leading to a state highway.

"Before the new bridge even went in we've been lobbying for a safe loop from Ocean Beach Rd to Tairua's main road because of the dangers of walking on a state highway.

"We can't fathom how a path could cost that much either," she said.

A 90m section of unsealed footpath just built by TCDC contractors and leading to a state highway, with no footpath at the other end. Photo / HC Post

Speirs said the southern side was significantly more costly and complex because it had a culvert and wasn't flat.

"We have done some high-level cost estimates but are currently waiting on a more detailed costing so we can hopefully secure funding from an additional source from the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF).

"Funding for projects is allocated every three years as part of our National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) process, and a footpath was not included in our 2021-24 NLTP which is why it is taking some time to find a funding source."

The agency would not comment on questions around safety ranking compared to other needs in TCDC's roading network now the bridge has been installed.

"The bridge has made walking and cycling in Tairua much safer, which is a great outcome," said Speirs.

"Like many of the footbridge users, we would like to see it safely connected to the town and are working towards a viable solution for this. We will keep the community updated as we progress."