Tauranga's wonky new footpath finds fame

A footpath in a newly built part of Tauranga has become an in-joke among tradies working there.

The curvy footpath runs for several hundred metres of Te Ranga Memorial Drive in The Lakes, in an area of the suburb that is still being developed.

Every few metres the path veers away from the roadside and back again, allowing room for newly planted trees to grow.

Tradesmen working in the area, who did not want to be identified, said the path provided a few laughs.

One suggested it would be fun for children to ride their bikes on.

Tauranga councillor Larry Baldock, who represents the Otumoetai/Pyes Pa ward, said he was not aware of any concern about the path, but joked that the council tried to cheer up the tradies and give them something to brighten a dull day.

"It's probably because of the infrastructure development conditions requiring certain things for big trees."

Tauranga City Council asset delivery manager Howard Severinsen said it would be easy to assume the footpath could have been shifted slightly.

"But that would mean the footpath was built over top of the underground utilities and services," he said.

"A straight footpath would have posed more problems accessing the underground infrastructure (fibre, water, gas, power and streetlight cabling) as house building proceeds.

"This is an example of subdivisional developers using flexibility to place the necessary underground services into the road corridor while still achieving some greenery."