"It's only a small strip of land and no use on its own."
But she said she was going back to council next week, because the way the walkway has been closed off was ineffective.
"They've blocked it off but only to a height of about a metre, so most people can simply hop over the barrier. It hasn't made a bit of difference," she said.
The closure came after residents in Ruapehu St went to the Puriri St neighbourhood police team with their concerns about crime associated with the accessway. Ms De Weyer said without their involvement nothing would have happened.
Daniel Cairncross, the council's roading traffic safety engineer, told the council accessways were useful for linking communities but sometimes there were problems affecting residents living on either side of them.
He said the advantages of walkways had to be measured against the nuisance they sometimes created. There were originally five walkways in that part of the city but three had been closed.
Police asked locals if they would be in favour of closing the walkway and 77 per cent said yes, 14 per cent no, and the remainder didn't mind either way. The council considered widening the existing walkway at a cost of $80,000 but decided it would "continue to allow dishonest offending".
Another option was lockable gates at either end to shut the walkway after dark. But police statistics for the area showed most of the crime was committed during the day. They also flagged closing the walkway and integrating the strip of land into a neighbouring property, but the council decided to retain ownership.
"Many residents have lived in their homes for many years and deserve to be safe and feel safe. If changes were made to the accessway, residents would not only feel their plight had been heard but would have an improved quality of life," Mr Cairncross said.