Glyn Beaumont wrote on Facebook: "Whilst I totally understand why people don't like 'em [the gates], I'm a fan of brutalist architecture, so I'm gettin' a great post war East Berlin feel from these, comrade."
Another replied: "When we walked through them while they were being erected I asked the construction guys if they'd need my passport or papers handed over before I crossed through... they took a moment to get it then cracked up laughing."
"Hideous", "an atrocity", and out of step with the maunga's "natural beauty" are other comments on the entry and exit gates, while others have likened the scene to a set from the Hunger Games and the Guns of Navarone war film.
But some have welcomed the new safety for walkers and their pets, with the absence of motor vehicles on the narrow summit road.
"[The gates] are fine if you like bicycles and jogging," one said.
Simon Tate, who likes to walk on the suburban mountain, said, "I don't think they look very good at all. They don't match the scenery or the atmosphere of Mt Albert."
"They look like a military installation."
"I read that they are planning to plant trees or hedges around the block of the barrier which I think would help.
"It's pretty ghastly. They are very brutalist."
Wikipedia describes brutalist architecture as being characterised by simple, block-like structures that often feature bare building materials.
Mt Albert's maunga is now referred to by three names: Ōwairaka, Te Ahi-kā-a-Rakataura and Mt Albert.
Vehicle access to the summit of Maungawhau/Mt Eden was restricted in January 2016.
The Tūpuna Maunga o Tāmaki Makaurau Authority - an organisation with representatives of mana whenua, Auckland Council and the Crown - said that following the success of that project, it had decided to extend the "pedestrian-only" areas to five other maunga: Maungakiekie/One Tree Hill, Maungarei/Mt Wellington, Ōwairaka/Te Ahi-kā-a-Rakataura/Mt Albert, Pukewīwī/Puketāpapa/Mt Roskill and Takarunga/Mt Victoria.
Cycles are permitted and people with limited mobility can get the barrier access codes to drive past.
The authority's operations manager, Nick Turoa, said it had tried several gate systems for its tihi (summit) road vehicle access restrictions.
"Bollards that descend into the ground require significant invasive earthworks which is not appropriate for every site, and the boom arms are often vandalised by cars attempting to drive through them, resulting in ongoing maintenance costs.
"The style of gate at Ōwairaka/Te Ahi-kā-a-Rakataura/Mt Albert was chosen as it is a robust and reliable method of managing vehicle access to the maunga, and we have now also installed these at Maungarei/Mt Wellington and at Maungakiekie/One Tree Hill. The style has also allowed us to add the original names of the maunga on the gate arm.
"At Ōwairaka/Te Ahi-kā-a-Rakataura/Mt Albert we installed two gates to allow the addition of a new visitor car park inside the maunga boundary while also keeping the loop road open for visitors who have limited mobility and wish to drive to the tihi in their own cars.
"To soften the appearance of the gates we have opted for a visually recessive colour, and in front of the boxes housing the gate mechanism we will plant a specimen kawakawa tree along with native shrubs and groundcovers."
Turoa expected the planting would be done within several weeks, once the weather was wetter, to give the plants the best chance of survival.
"We have added volcanic rocks along verges to prevent vehicles from driving around the gates. We were recently made aware that people have been shifting the rocks and as a result we are looking at a method of pinning them in place to prevent them being moved."
