Wonky Tauranga footpath no joke for city councillor

A wonky footpath in the Bay of Plenty has become a laughing stock for tradies working in the area.

But a Tauranga City councillor says the curvy footpath is no joke.

The offending path runs for several hundred metres of Te Ranga Memorial Dr 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 did not want to be identified but said the path was a bit of an in-joke and provided a few laughs.

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

The area of The Lakes is still being developed, with no residents living there yet.

Tauranga councillor Catherine Stewart, who represents the Otumoetai/Pyes Pa ward, said the number of trees in the area was "going to cause problems in the future".

Mrs Stewart said this was a regular problem in areas of compact housing and she had seen examples in Papamoa where trees were planted in berms or traffic islands and had grown too large for the area.

"With compact housing, the trees are so close to the road and so close to the houses and infrastructure, there's just too many for a confined area."

She said there were often inappropriate species of trees or too many planted without thoughts for the consequences in years to come. She planned to change this when she and other councillors were expected to rule on the Infrastructure Development Code later this year.

Tauranga councillor Larry Baldock, who also represents the area, said he was not aware of any concern about the path. He joked that the council tried to cheer up the tradies and give them something to brighten a dull day.

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

"But that would mean the footpath was built right 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 . . . developers using flexibility to place the necessary underground services into the road corridor while still achieving some greenery."

Readers' thoughts on Facebook

Susan Jones I like it , takes away boring straight lines.
Rachel Low I like it a lot . . . it is quirky x
Maureen Fell Who cares!! It's a little different to boring straight footpaths whoopdee do dah! . . . is this news
Nohotu Tai It's hideous
Valerie Kora Weird different kind of ugly probably cost more no wonder my rates went up again Tauranga Council you's are winners alright
Soraya Te Wheoro Wow . . . so cool
Ngaire Green Love it. Creative yet conservative.
Ngaroimata Karu Definitely Environmental news, Good way to protect the roots of the trees. Tena koe Tane Mahuta. Aaaaand it added an extra smile to my day. Ugly, Cool, whatever, it's original, awesome to see