Waterfront design gets green light

Tauranga City Council will go ahead with the detailed design phase of the access-to-water project.

Tauranga City Council has agreed to press ahead with the detailed design phase of the $3.2 million project to build steps down to the water's edge in front of the downtown waterfront playground and Hairy Maclary statues.

The access-to-water project also included the construction of a pier and pontoon, with project manager Richard Konning saying the work could be completed by next Christmas if the council signed off on the design phase this year.

A design concept to access the water has been prepared following the council's decision earlier this year to spend $8 million over the next 10 years on the downtown's streetscape, open space areas and waterfront.

Consultants LandLAB identified the tidal steps, pier and pontoon as the first priority, followed by the redevelopment of the Town Wharf as the next priority.

The review of the design concepts by engineering consultants Tonkin and Taylor led to indicative costs of of $2.6m to $3.2m. The costs recognise the soft ground conditions along the waterfront.

Several councillors were concerned about safety issues from currents along the waterfront. Councillors were told that Attwood Consulting have been engaged to provide specialist safety review services for the project at both the concept and detailed design stages.

Monitoring committee chairman Kelvin Clout said he strongly supported the tidal steps, saying the project had received a lot of positive public feedback. "People want to put their feet in the water."

Councillor Steve Morris said he would like to see Coronation Pier rebuilt, saying nothing would restore the confidence of the city in the council more than rebuilding that structure after the debacle of eight years ago.

The council agreed with staff advice to stick to separate tendering processes for the design and construction, rather than a single design and build procurement process.