Muriwai Beach hoons face stop sign

By WAYNE THOMPSON

For 40 years Muriwai Beach on Auckland's west coast has been a venue for car racing.

Acceleration and flat-out speed were all that counted in the Auckland Car Club races and half-mile speed trials.

Competitors reached up to 160 km/h on the tide-smoothed surface.

But after organised events stopped in 1963, the beach became a magnet for drivers who just wanted a blast.

On weekends at low tide, their cars and motorcycles beat up the southernmost 2km of the beach.

Now the Rodney District Council is investigating widening its traffic ban on sections of the shoreline.

"This is the most popular part of the beach, and the hoons do their wheelies in and out of people and their children, dogs and horses," said longtime resident Anna Mason.

Muriwai Surf Lifesaving Club chairman Allan Roberts said it was a miracle that no one had been struck by a car and killed.

In response to pleas from residents and lifesavers, the council has closed the southern end to traffic for the last three summers.

Now it is moving towards placing a year-round ban on vehicles in the southern part between the flat rocks at the bottom of Motutara Rd and the Okiritoto Stream.

This section borders the regional park, which attracts 1.3 million visitors a year, many of whom go on to the beach during their visit.

A permanent ban is supported by the Auckland Regional Council and 88 out of 100 households surveyed by the Muriwai Progressive Association.

The district council's roading safety engineer, Ian Rumsey, said a locked gate at the end of Motutara Rd would limit access to all but emergency services and anglers' club members using the boat ramp.

Alternative access was available further north at the Okiritoto Stream.

ARC principal ranger Richard Balm said up to 30 motorcycles and 50 vehicles used the beach on weekend afternoons.

"When people sit on the beach they are surrounded by cars and booming stereos that ruin the whole experience of being at the beach."

The councils want the ban as a holding measure until their study of coastal erosion and beach use is completed in about a year.