Napier City Council is working on ways to deter vandals who have once again damaged the city’s Marine Parade viewing platform.
It is also encouraging anyone who witnessed the latest act of vandalism to contact the police.
Since it was opened in December 2015 the platform has been enjoyed by hundreds of locals and tourists daily.
But its glass panels have also been damaged numerous times. It costs about $2000 per panel to replace the glass. This time two panels need replacing.
In November 2017, when the glass was damaged for the fifth time, then Napier Mayor Bill Dalton said they were going to have “one more go at a nice, clean, see-through” design.
He said they had found a new product “which we think is appropriate. It is our final attempt to reinstate the glass as it should be and how it was intended to be”.
Dalton said “if it continues to be broken, we will have to resort to some sort of stainless steel grate”.
On Tuesday a council spokeswoman said it was “deeply disappointing” to see it vandalised again and they were working on new lighting on the platform and also looking into surveillance options.
“In the past, we have looked into alternative options to replace the glass such as Perspex, however Perspex can also be easily vandalised so therefore is not an effective solution,” she said.
The 67m-long structure is halfway along Marine Parade and stops at the water’s edge with panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean.
It was built to cover up a stormwater outfall designed to push water away from the city in flood events.
By Linda Hall for Local Democracy Reporting
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
