Ask Phoebe: Walkways to take advantage of harbour environment

The new walkway creates a safe environment for pedestrians and cyclists in the Hobson Bay area. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Q: A walkway has recently been completed in Remuera which runs down part of Orakei Rd, then angles off across the mangroves behind the garden centre to meet Shore Rd. I wonder if you could find out when this walkway was planned, who approved it, what it's for and how much it cost?
Anne Ridsdale, Remuera.

The Orakei Pt-to-Shore Rd walkway is part of a continuous walkway around Orakei Basin and Hobson Bay and then on to Pt Resolution. This was planned in 1996 and begun in 1999 and seven stages have been completed. Building the section from Orakei Pt to Shore Rd is the most recent. It was championed by the Orakei Local Board and community consultation was carried out between March and September last year. Participants included residents, businesses, schools, sporting clubs and institutions such as residents' associations.

The advantages of the project include:

*A safe environment for pedestrians and cyclists in the Hobson Bay area
*Safe connections to the reserves and open space networks surrounding Hobson Bay
*Improvements to public travel options to the area to reduce demand on limited car parking, particularly during key sports times.

The boardwalk section also provides one of Auckland's most beautiful walks.

The project cost $900,000 which was shared equally between Auckland Transport and the Orakei Community Board. This was significantly under budget.

Q: We have wonderful walkways around our area, enabling many people to walk around the Orakei Basin and now an extension from Shore Rd will soon be completed. Is there any plan to extend the walkway around the base of Burwood Cres to join up with the walkway to Parnell? How fortunate we are to have these delightful areas which can be enjoyed by so many people.
Frances Baird, Remuera, and Grant Bevin, Auckland.

The planning for the Burwood Cres section of the walkway from Wilsons Beach to Shore Rd is under way, with local schools and residents being consulted. There is largely good support for the proposal, apart from a few concerned residents who own coastal properties around Burwood Cres.

Once constructed, this walkway will complete a missing link in a network of walkways started by the Hobson Community Board under the previous Auckland City Council and continued by the Orakei Local Board under Auckland Council. The Orakei Local Board would like to name this section the Tinana Walkway as it is linked to a Ngati Whatua rangatira (chief) of that name who lived in the area before (and in the early years of) Pakeha settlement.

Another bouquet, again from Glen Hill-Willis: Those amazing people who attend to the road repairs deserve acknowledgement and further appreciation as the remaining 20 or so uneven patches approaching the Meadowlands end of Chapel Rd have now been resurfaced. Magic. Thanks.