Auckland Council has announced that one of the city’s most popular multi-use beaches will close to vehicles over the busiest weeks of the summer.
Muriwai Beach will be closed to vehicle access between Wednesday 23 December 2020 and Monday 10 January 2021.
Visitors to the beach on Auckland’s west coast will still be able to park at all of the regional park car parks and access points and walk onto the beach on foot, however, vehicles will be blocked from accessing the beach.
It will be the first time the beach will be closed to vehicles with formal accessways to the beach closed at Coast Road, Rimmer Road and Wilson Road. Tasman Road remains closed under normal seasonal restrictions.
As you might expect, the vehicle ban appears to be a result of a number of beachgoers behaving badly and ruining the fun for everyone. For the past five years, drivers have needed to obtain a permit to drive on Muriwai (and any other Auckland beaches frequently used by vehicles) which lays out expectations and rules for driving on the beach.
According to the Auckland Council, in the 12 months up to June 2020, 2715 people had applied for and obtained a permit to drive a vehicle on Muriwai Beach. This is estimated to be less than 50 per cent of the actual number of vehicles that drive on the beach.
The short summer ban on vehicles at Muriwai Beach lifts on the 10th of January 2021.