Tauranga City Council's claims and actions on waterfront issues are inconsistent says Councillor Murray Guy. While citizens and ratepayers will continue to slip-and-slide in the dark down the path from Monmouth Street to The Strand this winter, the council's safe city policy states that making walkways safe and easy to use is a key strategy.

Issues include a lack of height under the Sebel Trinity Wharf, the steps up to the Mission Cemetery. Photo by Tracy Hardy.

This steep, dark track is not the only issue on the 'historic” walk, says Murray.
He says the plan is for people to be able to walk along the waterfront to the Mission Cemetery and back along Cliff Road.
'When the Sebel got resource consent to build out over the water, one of the conditions was they had to maintain access for the community around the waterfront to the Mission Cemetery.”
There is a concrete path under the Sebel against the rock face, but it has less than 1800mm clearance and is a part of the $1.5 million historic walkway, says Murray.
'You can walk on it but you can't jog.
'Tauranga has a safe city designation. This is one of the more frequently used tracks around the city and it's not lit.
'It will be interesting if it is put on the list of historic walks because they will want to make that safe.
'We were going to spend $12 million on a walkway from Memorial Park to the rail bridge, that's how much some people care about waterfront access.”
Tauranga Safe City coordinator Mike Mills says he hasn't been contacted by the council.
'If they council wanted me to give them some opinion or advice about it I would be happy to provide it,” says Mike.