The Onehunga Foreshore Restoration Project was opened in mid-November, providing Aucklanders with their first significant access to the Onehunga seashore since the 1970s. The $30m project was funded by both the Maungakiekie-Tamaki Local Board and the New Zealand Transport Agency, and provides recreational areas and facilities such as new beaches, a boat ramp and turning bay and a pedestrian/cyclist bridge linking the foreshore to the Onehunga Bay reserve.
After many years of advocacy and involvement from the people of Onehunga, followed by a three year construction programme, the project has opened up access to newly created beachside recreational areas and facilities – all within walking distance of central Onehunga.
It’s now become a popular walking and cycling route, with pathways linking the area to Southdown to the east and around to Ambury Park in the south.
The NZ Transport Agency has contributed to $19m to the project and is delighted to have reconnected people to the water and helped make the community’s long standing vision for this foreshore a reality.
It’s a part of a broader commitment to addressing the impacts of transport projects and plays its part in bringing walking and cycling options into the broader transport mix.