Hahei tourism infrastructure projects - have your say

(Image above is a detail of the concept plan for the proposed Hahei Tourist Walkway. Click the image to open the full concept diagram.)

We're asking for feedback from the Hahei community on a couple of projects to improve tourism infrastructure in the village. One is a walkway to link the Visitor Car Park to the beach and the beginning of the Cathedral Cove path, and the other is an upgrade of the public toilets by the Community Hall. Let us know what you think of the plans we're proposing.

In September our Council received nearly $1.5 million from the central government's Tourism infrastructure Fund for these two projects, which are a response to growing tourist numbers in Hahei as Cathedral Cove grows in popularity.

The Hahei Tourist Walkway - is aimed at promoting the walking village concept for Hahei. A pedestrian walkway is to be provided from the Hahei Visitor Car Park through to Hahei Beach and Cathedral Cove Walkway via Kotare Reserve and Hahei Beach Road. Click on the above diagram to see the full concept plan.

The path would provide an attractive alternative for visitors and residents that is mostly off-street. The intent is to help improve safety, encourage people to walk rather than drive and provide an attractive visitor experience.

Once on Hahei Beach Road, walkers will use the existing footpath, and cross the road at the existing zebra crossing.

We would like feedback specifically on how best to treat the walkway for the last 250m to the beach. Given the high numbers of vehicles parking on the berm, there is an opportunity to separate walkers from vehicles by a line of bollards. Additional features could be added at both ends and around existing street trees with rock gardens. This would still provide parallel parking for vehicles, but also prioritise pedestrian safety. The intent would be to keep this area grassed.

A number of properties along Hahei Beach Road have informal, grassed driveways. We would like your help in identifying where bollards would be best placed to ensure continued access.

See below for how to give us your feedback.

Hahei Central Toilets - The plan is to upgrade the existing toilet located by the Hahei Community Hall. This toilet has only two pans, and with Government funding, we are looking to bring forward a scheduled upgrade to the 2019 year. The upgrade will provide for an additional pan (three pans in total) with a fully disabled accessible toilet.

As part of the upgrade we are looking to relocate the toilet from its current position, and move it forward, closer to Hahei Beach Road, on the corner at the entrance to the car park, next to the fire brigade building. The reasons for shifting the toilet location are:

• Building a bigger toilet to meet tourist demand is difficult and costly in the current location due to existing underground pipes and limited space;

• Shifting the toilet away from the playground will improve surveillance to the recently upgraded playground and improve safety for users;

• The proposed toilet location is more visible to visitors, and could be a high quality asset to the town;

• The new location will allow for new landscaping in this location.

We currently have two toilet designs we are seeking your feedback on:

• A colonial design with a gable roof, matching the character of some of the existing buildings in the village;

• A more contemporary design using chunky, weathered wood and steel.

Tell us what you think:

To provide feedback on both these proposals, please fill out the fillable PDF form available on our website and send to ross.ashby@tcdc.govt.nz by 1 February 2019.

If you would like to meet to discuss the proposals please e-mail or ring our project manager Ross Ashby so that we can arrange a date and time that is convenient. Additionally, he will be at the Hahei Community Hall on Saturday 5 January 2019 from 10am-2pm.

Ross Ashby
027 510 9079
ross.ashby@tcdc.govt.nz

Other upcoming projects:

Onemana Toilet
We'll be looking for feedback on the design of a new toilet proposed for Onemana beach. We'll have details on that in the New Year.

Whangapoua Toilet Upgrade
We'll be looking for feedback on the upgrade of a toilet at Whangapoua Beach in the New Year.

Our Council also received Tourism Infrastructure funding for these projects: $467,500 for Whangapoua and $108,352 for Onemana.

About the Tourism Infrastructure Fund

The Central Government's Tourism Infrastructure Fund provides up to $25 million per year for the development of tourism-related infrastructure such as carparks, freedom camping facilities, sewerage and water works and transport projects.

The fund supports local communities facing pressure from tourism growth and in need of assistance - areas with high visitor numbers but small ratepayer bases - like our district.

The Minister of Tourism Kelvin Davis announced in September 2018 that the Government was allocating $19.6 million for tourism infrastructure projects across the country through the second round of the Tourism Infrastructure Fund.

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