Posts Tagged ‘Orakei Basin boardwalk’

Widened Orakei Basin Boardwalk’s Awful Handrail

3 July 2018

The railings on the widened Orakei Basin boardwalk have been a hot topic on our Facebook page. This boardwalk is Stage 3 of the Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive Shared Path and connects the Pourewa Valley to Orakei Station. Many in our community have voiced their concerns and sadness at the unexpected metal railing that has gone up on the Orakei Boardwalk section of the Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive Shared Path. While we are very happy to see construction on the Shared Path, we are disappointed that boardwalk user’s connection with the basin has been lost.

The new railings are 1.4m high and due to the narrow width between the upright posts and depth means that the gorgeous views previously enjoyed by boardwalk users have been obscured. The posts run straight up to 1.4m so are well above most children’s (and plenty of adult’s) sight line and boardwalk meaning they will have extremely limited views of this lovely spot.

The good people at The Hobson have written an excellent piece titled “Don’t Fence Me In” about this in their July/August issue and have kindly given us permission to share. Click here to read The Hobson’s article and get the background and different views on the widened boardwalk.

We are working with the Orakei Local Board to try and find a more satisfactory resolution to this eyesore and to ensure that it doesn’t happen in Stage 2 (through Pourewa Valley) or Stage 4 (across Hobson Bay).