Dozens of frustrated Papamoa residents have signed a petition to halt work on a new walkway they say is a potential corridor of crime.
Work has already begun on the new pathway through the Papamoa stormwater reserves that will eventually see a walking and cycleway from Pacific View Rd to Wairakei Reserve.
The gravel walkway will be no longer 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 make the Tauranga City Council postpone or even cancel work on the walkway.
Monterey Key couple Tom and Michelle Ross said their slice of paradise would be ruined. "It's happening just outside our house and we knew nothing about it until it started," Mr Ross told the Bay of Plenty Times.