Editorial: Papamoa walkway no threat

I'm not convinced a walkway being built in Papamoa will become a "corridor of crime" as residents in the area fear.

Dozens of frustrated Papamoa residents have signed a petition to halt work on the new walkway and cycleway, which will stretch from Pacific View Rd to Wairakei Reserve.

Work on the first stage - between Gravatt Rd and Palm Beach Boulevard - started on March 8.

The gravel walkway will be no more than 3m wide and will back on to property boundaries, in some cases within a metre.

Upset residents told the Bay of Plenty Times they had been poorly consulted and were organising a community meeting to try to make Tauranga City Council postpone or even cancel work on the walkway.

The council says residents were sent a letter on November 28 alerting them to the walkway and a mail drop advising that work was starting was sent last week.

The walkway/cycleway plan was first published in 2006.

It appears the scale of the walkway may have been lost in translation and I can understand residents' shock if they first learned of the plan in November, but there will always be resistance from homeowners affected by plans that involve public access.

Many of the residents thought it was going to be a pathway but were shocked to learn it was to be 3m wide.

Monterey Key couple Tom and Michelle Ross say their slice of paradise backing on to the lake will be ruined and if they knew the scale of the project they might not have bought there a year ago.

Obviously they have chosen an appealing spot and that is why the council wants to put the walkway there so others can enjoy it.

I can understand that residents would be disturbed to learn that the walkway/cycleway will be only 1m from their properties but I am sceptical that it will become a crime corridor.

And here's why: Public walkways are common in Papamoa.

Walkways to Papamoa Beach are common along Papamoa Beach Rd and I am yet to hear that they have become crime corridors, so what makes this walkway any different?