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A technical error that led to owners being permitted to walk dogs off-leash on a section of the Millennium Walkway in Ōrewa, when they should be on leash, is to be corrected by Auckland Council.
The error was drawn to the attention of Hibiscus & Bays Local Board members at a workshop this month. Council staff became aware of the issue following a complaint from a resident.
The cause was an administrative error, Council says, and it is a technical issue, but the gist is as follows:
The default dog access rules are that dogs must be under control on a leash in all easily accessible council-controlled public places, unless the area is listed as an exception. In the areas that are exceptions, dogs can be walked under control, off a leash.
Ōrewa Marine Parade Reserve – a narrow strip of land between Arundel Recreation Reserve and Moana Reserve (part of the Millennium Walkway) – was listed as an exception to the general rule when the rules were adopted in 2019. This is the only section of the Millennium Walkway to be designated off-leash, while the surrounding reserves are all on-leash.
The walkway is too narrow to provide much space between off-leash dogs and other walkers or cyclists. It also provides access to numerous beachfront properties, and a number of roads (Marine View, Noel Avenue and Kohu Street) lead directly onto the walkway with limited barriers between turning vehicles and the walkway. For these reasons, Council staff consider that the error needs to be rectified.
While staff have delegated authority to fix errors like this, they approached the local board as a courtesy to make them aware and seek feedback.
The local board agreed that this error needs to be corrected for the safety of the dogs, the public and users of the walkway.
A correction will be contained in the next update to the dog rules, and new signs will be put up along the walkway to make the rule clear to the public.
