North Shore Times (New Zealand)
Information a dog’s breakfast
Along Takapuna beach, where offleash dogs are controversial, signs along the beach promote different rules for dog walking, and the council website has different times again.
Some entrances to the beach have no signage at all, including the Promenade, with its busy, dog-friendly cafe. Signage on five streets was consistent, saying no dogs would be allowed on the beach from Labour Weekend (October 21) till March 31, from 10.30am till 6.30pm.
The signs also said dogs should be under control on-leash on grass, walkways, car parks and near playgrounds during that period and could be off-leash, under control, at all other times.
But further south a sign at Hauraki Rd told a different story.
‘‘No dogs on beaches and foreshore between 10am and 6.30pm during daylight savings,’’ the sign said. This year, daylight savings runs from September 24, 2017 till April 1, 2018.
A third and different sign was found at the Rewiti Ave access point, which dated back to North Shore City Council days.
It had the same message as that at Hauraki Rd but carried a historical 24-hour action hotline which, when called, had an automated message that asked the caller to use the new Auckland Council phone number, as ‘‘the number you are using will be discontinued in the near future’’.
Meanwhile, the Auckland Council website displayed another time frame again.
A poll on Neighbourly.co.nz asked whether people knew the dog rules for their local beaches. There were 78 respondents.
Of those who owned a dog, 18 knew the rules and seven did not. Another seven said the rules weren’t clear.
Hibiscus and Bays Local Board chairwoman Julia Parfitt said the inconsistencies in such signage were an issue across the region.
‘‘The signage budget comes from the local board funds, it’s really quite difficult to get funds,’’ Parfitt said.
‘‘There are two issues, the inconsistency and the proliferation of so many signs.
‘‘Dog access and various rules are quite confusing to people because there’s no one standard time and date rule across the Auckland region.‘‘ Parfitt said.
‘‘For people who want to take their dogs to a range of places, it’s really quite confusing.’’
Council was contacted for comment but did not respond in time.