17 September 2004

$250,000 funding boost for Kohi beach boardwalk

Auckland City Council’s Finance and Corporate Business Committee yesterday approved $250,000 to redevelop the western part of Kohimarama’s esplanade reserve.

A $465,000 upgrade of the eastern part of the reserve is currently underway to protect the natural environment from damage and create better access to the beach.

“It makes sense to complete the upgrade of the entire area. Kohi attracts huge crowds and harsh weather conditions throughout the year – both take a big toll on the beachfront reserve,” says Councillor Douglas Armstrong, chairperson of the Finance and Corporate Business Committee. “This weekend we’re officially opening the new-look Kohi Beach and this extra funding will allow us to complete what has been a major new project for the area.”

The redevelopment of the eastern area features the construction of a beachfront timber boardwalk approximately 220 metres long and two metres wide. The project also includes the installation of new street furniture (including a drinking fountain, seats and bins), low-level lighting, feature paving, mulching and underplanting of the existing pohutukawa trees with coastal native species and the construction of concrete garden edges.

The esplanade reserve redevelopment was programmed to coincide with the city’s $6 million seawall project to protect Tamaki Drive from coastal erosion.

Nearly 50,000 cubic metres of sand have returned iconic Kohimarama Beach to its pristine best and provided beach goers with recreation space at all tides.

Kohimarama’s new beach will be officially opened at 9.30 am tomorrow (Saturday 18 September) and everyone is welcome to attend at Tamaki Drive, Kohimarama (opposite the end of Kohimarama Road at the Northern Groyne).

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

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