Work is about to start on a refresh of Sumner’s Esplanade walkway.
From July 8, the city council is restoring the rock seawall between the walkway and the beach, and updating the walkway seating on the seaward side of the concrete seawall.
The city council is also investigating the installation of an accessible ramp running from the walkway to the beach.
City council acting head of parks Rupert Bool said the changes will be made as a result of a 2019 assessment of the seawall.
“We found about half of the seawall – some 600 metres – had eroded and needs to be topped up with more rocks to get it back to its original height, which will mean better protection from swells and storms,’’ Bool said.
“All the bench seats are in an average to poor condition and need to either be repaired or replaced.
“We’re replacing them with new ones that will be in the same style as the furniture you can see along the newly completed Te Ara Ihutai Christchurch Coastal Pathway.
“The 20 new bench seats will be evenly spaced in the locations people use most often,” Bool said.
“We’re installing four of them in new spots that will give people different views of the coastline – on the seaward side of the walkway and on top of the rock seawall.
“We’re very mindful of wildlife along this area. There’s currently no sign of activity from lizards and penguins, but we’ll be keeping a lookout for them during construction. We’ve timed the work to start outside the penguin breeding season,” Bool said.
The city council expects the seawall restoration to take eight weeks to complete, and will work closely with the contractor to keep disruption along the Esplanade walkway to a minimum.
The furniture is set to be renewed in mid September.
