Safety concerns – and a historic perspective – have seen a petition presented to Tauranga City Council this week hoping to save the Ngatai Road-Seaway Terrace walkway.

With TCC looking to sell the walkway, with staff citing it being dangerous and requiring on-going maintenance costs, a resident has come forward and presented a petition against the move.

Ngatai Road resident John Buck stands on the public grassed walkway. Photo: Bruce Barnard.

Petitioner Doreen Anderson, who presented the document to the city council's Projects and Monitoring Committee on Tuesday, says the walkway is crucial for the people who live off Beach Rd and Seaway Terrace.

'It is our only exit in the event of an earthquake or tsunami, because we have no other way to get out. The only other exit point is at Levers Rd, and there will be the whole of Matua using that in such an event,” says Doreen.

'For us, it is a very vital exit point. It's our only exit point apart from the Levers Rd exit point.”

Doreen believes the pathway also has historic interest in being an old kaimoana (seafood) path for iwi at Otumoetai Pa.

'They used to come down there for kaimoana. The track was also easy access for them to the trading post that was on the beach front there, the original Faulkner's trading post, which has not been removed and taken to the Historic Village.”

The track is well-used by Seaway Terrace and Beach Rd residents –and also provides beach access for Cherrywood residents, says Doreen.

'And now we are getting our new walkway along the front it's going to become even more imperative for the Cherrywood people to have access to that boardwalk.”

During the week TCC announced decision making on the walkway will be put off until after the local body elections.