The Whāingaroa Wharf Walkways project is focused on making improvements to the entire wharf to create a pedestrian-friendly precinct that is safer and more accessible for all ages and abilities.
As part of this project, we are planning to create a western and eastern walkway at the wharf. The western walkway will feature tidal steps and terraces to improve access to water in two locations and will connect the existing walkway at the end of Wallis Street to the wharf. The smaller eastern walkway will connect the wharf to the proposed location for the new pontoon.
We’ll also carry out other amenity and safety improvements such as a new balustrade around sections of the wharf, improved lighting, tree planting, seating, storytelling features such as signage and integrated artwork.
We need your help!
We’ve developed two options for the western walkway tidal steps and we need your help to decide which is best for Whāingaroa!
Option 1
Terraced tidal stairs are positioned closer to the wharf
Pros:
- Will have access to the water for a longer period of time
- Located centrally along the seawall, it will provide a better vantage point to the harbour and wider precinct
Cons:
- Potentially more exposed to bad weather
Option 2
Terraced tidal stairs are positioned in front of Silo Apartments
Pros:
- Will allow more beach access
- May have better protection from the wind and bad weather
Cons:
- Will only have access to water at high tide
Frequently Asked Questions
Want to know more? We’ve put together some FAQs below to help answer any questions you may have.
Once public consultation has closed, we’ll review the feedback and use this to determine which option we progress with. We expect to be able to share this information with the community in late 2021.
Construction is expected to start in mid-2022 and take around 8 months to complete.
We’ll do our best to minimise any disruption to the wharf during construction. However, there is potential that some parts of it may need to be closed off for construction during the winter. We’ll know more on the exact details once the work has been tendered and the design of the walkways is finalised.
We’ll keep you up to date as we progress.
No parking spaces will be removed
In 2019, Waikato District Council and the Raglan Community Board were granted $2.5 million in funding from the Provincial Growth Fund. This has been allocated to this project and three other projects which are focused on the improvement of the wharf and wider harbour now and into the future.
During the 2021-2031 Long Term Plan, the community told us improving accessibility to the town centre and improving walking and cycling infrastructure were top priorities. This was also made clear in the Raglan Naturally Plan.
While small in scale, we hope this project will go some way towards achieving those aspirations.
