Parking a distance away from my destination. Walking to the shops instead of driving. Exploring the neighbourhood to find new alleyways and bush tracks.
Driving across the city to find new parks and paths. It's so rewarding.
But my goodness these meanderings have been made so much harder now that I've got to push a pram everywhere!
Where once I'd happily walk on a gravel path or grass berm, I've now got to stick to where the pram can easily go. And let me tell you, in Tauranga, this can require a bit of effort.
Anyone who uses a wheelchair or mobility scooter will relate to this. Obviously, in the quiet suburbs, you expect that some streets may have footpaths on only one side of the road or none at all.
And that some walking tracks may be a little muddy, uneven, less mown, or have potholes. It's all part of the charm, right?
But when I encounter these kinds of problems around the city centre, well, I get a bit annoyed.
When my kid was born, we lived near Tauranga Boys' College. Once a week, I attended a parents' group near the city centre and I decided that I'd walk there rather than drive.
The first few times I made the trek down Devonport Rd were – err, how can I put this politely? A stressful nightmare.
On one side of the road, the footpath just stops in two places, forcing me to cross the road.
But there weren't any traffic islands or median strips to stand in and I had to attempt to cross both busy lanes in one hit. With a pram.
Eventually, I figured out where the best places to cross were before getting to the problem spots.
But I still had to contend with the choppy concrete churned up by tree roots and the overgrown hedges taking up half the path. Fun times.
All this to say: I truly love and appreciate a well-designed, pram-friendly walkway. One with a smooth, even surface from which I can admire the scenes around me. Kulim Park to Fergusson Park is probably my favourite example.
Easy walkway with no lumps and bumps, beautiful views, and a destination at each end. Wonderful. Give me more.
The controversial proposal to build a walkway along the harbour from Memorial Park to The Strand, which has spent decades on and off the council's drawing boards, would have been another such walkway. Beautiful, level, and a destination at each end.
It would have been exceedingly well used, perhaps one reason waterfront homeowners are so adamantly against it.
Who wants their harbour views interrupted by gaggles of mums in activewear and cyclists in skin-tight lycra? The horror.
Instead, some of my fellow walkers will congregate at the new boardwalk that's going to be constructed along the waterfront between The Strand and Elizabeth St.
It should be a pretty little walk, although not exactly long enough to work up much of a sweat. I'll keep my fingers crossed that, one day, it'll be added to and a longer walkway will be created. Ever the optimist.
But, for now, walkways and other amenities like this are exactly what is needed in Tauranga's city centre. More of those pretty and practical things that make people want to spend time and money there.
Tauranga is the biggest city in the Bay of Plenty by a long shot and, as such, the city centre has importance not just to the people who live here but to the wider region. There's a reason the Bay of Plenty Regional Council has slowly shifted its headquarters here from Whakatāne over the years.
CBDs are the hearts of our cities. Tauranga's certainly doesn't look it at the moment, especially with all the empty shops and major construction works.
But that won't last forever. And as more of these projects are completed, the more we are going to have a reason – and maybe, hopefully, a desire – to be there.
It will once again become a place where we want to work, shop, eat, play, move and live with ease.
A healthy, vibrant city centre.
Sonya Bateson is a writer, reader, and crafter raising her family in Tauranga. She is a Millennial who enjoys eating avocado on toast, drinking lattes and defying stereotypes. As a sceptic, she reserves the right to change her mind when presented with new evidence.
