Contractor Downer will set up on the city side of Greta Point from Tuesday 27 October, and work back towards the city as far as Weka Bay. The team will be upgrading the existing kerbs and drainage channels, and laying new concrete and asphalt paths like those recently completed at Ōmarukaikuru/Pt Jerningham and nearing completion on Cobham Drive.
Deputy Mayor Sarah Free, Council’s portfolio leader for walking and cycling, says it is wonderful to see the improvements in those locations nearly complete, and work on this next section of Te Aranui o Pōneke/the Great Harbour Way about to start.
“We are proud of the way these changes are transforming this part of the city and creating places where people of all ages and abilities can more easily walk, ride, scoot, and spend time with family and friends. We’re already seeing more people using the foreshore next to Cobham Drive because the new paths, plants and seating areas have made it a much more attractive place to get some fresh air and exercise.
“The next step is to get on with the stretch north of Greta Point while more detailed design work happens on the section in the middle between Weka Bay and Little Karaka Bay.”
The route along this side of the harbour – which is being developed in stages – is called Tahitai (one tide, one journey), a name gifted by Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o te Ika.
Tahitai stretches from Te Motu Kairangi (Miramar Peninsula) along the Kilbirnie foreshore next to Cobham Drive, where major environmental restoration, coastal protection and sustainable transport improvements are almost complete, and then on around the coastline to the city.
An important commuter and recreational route in its own right, Tahitai will be a significant part of Te Aranui o Pōneke/the Great Harbour Way. Te Aranui o Pōneke started as a regional vision, but is fast becoming a reality with Wellington City projects under way, Te Ara Tupua cycleway and walkway between Ngauranga and Petone being fast-tracked, and Government funding approved for the planned shared path between Seaview and Eastbourne.
Work on the new lookouts, seawalls, walking and bike paths at Pt Jerningham is complete apart from a few finishing touches, and work on Cobham Drive is expected to be complete by the end of November.
Work on the section between Greta Point and Weka Bay will be carried out in stages and will take about eight months.
Stop/go traffic management, and a 30km/h speed limit will be in place Mondays to Fridays, 9am to 4pm, so the work can be safely carried out. The arrangements will be very similar to those that were in place at Pt Jerningham.
People on bikes will either need to bike through this section with slow moving general traffic or walk bikes through the detours that will be in place for pedestrians.