Beachside lifestyle in Murrays Bay under threat, say voters

By JULIE MIDDLETON

YokeLeng Thomas hasn't let her children, a girl aged 15 and a boy aged 11, swim at Murrays Bay for five years.

They kept getting skin sores and ear infections from polluted water - the North Shore's creaky stormwater system fails completely in heavy rain, pouring sewage into the sea.

These days, if the kids want to swim, says Mrs Thomas, they go further north, to Long Bay. But she regrets this hugely: the proximity to the sea is the thing she most likes about living in Murrays Bay.

Mrs Thomas, 45, has lived with her husband David and their two children for eight years in MacNay Way, a cul-de-sac of unpretentious family homes curving up a hillside.

The Herald randomly contacted residents of that street to find out what was exercising their minds in the run-up to the local elections.

In general, they echo Mrs Thomas: they live here for the beachside lifestyle. But as the North Shore crams in more houses and more people, that lifestyle is at risk.

"Too much too fast," says Mrs Thomas, a management consultant. "The infrastructure is barely coping. The council needs to say: what do we need to do to make sure the Shore remains a liveable environment, and that people enjoy coming here to live and work?"

One of Mrs Thomas' neighbours, Sanne Gates, 40, a mother of three and a resident for 16 years, is also unhappy about beach pollution and the run-off from what she regards as an unhealthy number of hastily carved subdivisions.

She will vote for candidates with a green conscience. "To me, the earth should be number one."

Phil Brown, a 42-year-old sales engineer who has lived in MacNay Way for 11 years, is unhappy about beach pollution and says the rapid housing development is making him feel "claustrophobic. There's too much in-fill housing, too many people and the roads aren't designed to accommodate that sort of traffic".

He works in Penrose, a commute which can take a frustrating 1 1/2 hours. Roading and infrastructure projects to cope with growth need to come before new housing.

In 10 years, he reckons, the Shore will be overcrowded.

Mrs Thomas says city "liveability" also needs to include the ability to cycle, but the lanes available on main roads are unattractively narrow and motorists' behaviour sometimes terrifying.

Ms Gates, who says commuting to her midwife's job at Middlemore Hospital is "a pain", wonders why Shore families travelling on Shore streets need large, polluting four-wheel-drives.

Still, says Mrs Thomas, who was born in Malaysia, the Shore is a "great place to live. The schools are great. We spend a lot of time on the beach. You could not have a better lifestyle anywhere in the world".

Others talk about the ability of their kids to walk to school or catch a bus, lots of activities and friendly local shops.