Pāpāmoa residents petition against 'pointless' pathway

The proposed path, in red, would have run opposite the existing path. Image supplied / Tauranga City Council

Plans for a new pathway in a Pāpāmoa reserve have been swiftly ditched after residents called it "pointless" and a "waste of money".

The Tauranga City Council has abandoned a plan to build a walkway/cycleway about 160m long between Sovereign Dr and the picturesque Wairakei Steam stormwater reserve, connecting a new footbridge to Palm Beach Boulevard.

The pathway - a small part of a wider landscaping project - would have run in front of several Sovereign Dr houses, parallel to an existing path on the other side of the water that extends in both directions.

Sixteen Sovereign Dr residents signed a petition opposing it.

Resident Heather Ward addressed a council meeting yesterday morning on behalf of the petitioners, saying they felt replicating an existing and better-connected path was "pointless".

She said their objections were motivated by stopping wasteful spending, not by nimbyism, elitism or whether or not they wanted a path in front of their homes.

"We, the residents, could be accused of nimbyism but that would be so simplistic.

"Please be clear our objection is born out of a desire to see money spent wisely.

"We see this pointless path as wasteful."

An aerial view of the area. Photo / Google Maps

She understood the path would have cost more than $6500 and, while it was not a large amount in the greater scheme of council spending, the sum could be better spent elsewhere.

Examples of better ways to spend the money included more bins, shade, landscaping in the newer parts of Pāpāmoa East or even - if the local Muslim community wished - a memorial bench for the victims of the Christchurch terror attacks, she said.

Councillor John Robson said that, on the face of the information presented, it seemed "hard to justify" building the path.

Acting infrastructure manager Martin Parkes said he would review the plan for the path with the project managers after the meeting.

Parkes contacted Ward yesterday afternoon and said that following those discussions, he had decided to remove the section of pathway from the Wairakei Landscaping Project.

Ward told the Bay of Plenty Times she was pleased "common sense has won out".

The path was part of the council's wider plan for fresh landscaping along a 10km stretch of the waterway, including 11km of new cycleways and pathways.