Eat Streat 'needs fixing'

CONCERNED: Colin Matthews says the Eat Streat boardwalk is a danger.

Urgent action is being taken to repair the Eat Streat boardwalk, which has been called an "accident waiting to happen".

Rotorua's Colin Matthews, who has worked in construction for many years, contacted the Rotorua Daily Post this week with his concerns about the "twisted and warped" floor boards, large gaps between boards and missing and protruding screws - which he believes are a danger to pedestrians.

The Rotorua District Council has admitted it too is concerned - it has maintenance staff making daily inspections and has put up warning signs.

But it says the "teething problems' should not overshadow the success the $2 million Eat Streat project has been since its opening less than two months ago.

The issue has also been raised on a local social media site, while Eat Streat businesses held a meeting yesterday with council staff and contractors to discuss the boardwalk.

Mr Matthews said he supported the Eat Streat concept but in his opinion the boardwalk was a disaster.

He believes the problems are due to the use of pinus radiata which he said was "notorious for its lack of stability".

"The stainless steel has twisted and the screws holding it in place have popped out and are sticking up 10-20mm in some cases," he said. "Some of the boards move, they float up and down as you walk."

Mr Matthews said in some cases the timber had moved so much there were 15mm gaps between the boards.

"Someone in high heels could trip over and break their ankle."

He said in his opinion the boardwalk needed to be ripped out and replaced.

Council inner city enterprises manager Nick Dallimore said the council was concerned about "some unevenness" that had developed on the boardwalk and was taking "immediate remedial action". He had been assured appropriate timber was used, he said.

Mr Dallimore said maintenance staff were currently making daily inspections on site and attending to any immediate problems as they surfaced.

As an interim safety precaution some temporary signage had been put in place alerting people to watch their footing on the boardwalk, he said.

"I'm confident the action we're taking reduces any substantial safety risk."

The issue of who would foot the bill for the maintenance was still being worked through, Mr Dallimore said.

Mr Dallimore said the council had asked APR architects, who developed the concept and supplied the designs, to promptly come up with a design solution to remedy the unevenness.

"We have work underway to fix these teething problems for the long-term, and the work will be undertaken in conjunction with a number of planned Eat Streat project components yet to be completed."

Mac's Steak House owner Bob Macfarlane said Eat Streat business owners met with the contractors and council representatives yesterday. The boardwalk was one of the issues discussed.

"They made it clear it's a problem that had to be fixed and they will be fixing it."

Mr Macfarlane wasn't aware of any accidents on the boardwalk so far but said you only had to walk along it to know there was something wrong.

Council inner city revitalisation strategy leader councillor Karen Hunt said the boardwalk issues should not detract from the overwhelming success Eat Streat.

"People love the new Eat Streat development and it's getting high praise, not only from locals and other New Zealand visitors but from overseas tourists as well.

"There's no doubt it's helping to revitalise our inner city, and it's boosting our reputation as a great visitor destination."

When the Rotorua Daily Post was advised late yesterday afternoon the issue had been referred to APR Architects, we attempted to contact them for comment. However they were unable to respond before deadline.