Authorities are in a race against time to save one of Auckland's most iconic waterfront areas and transport routes, with Tāmaki Drive at the forefront of grim new predictions about sea level rise.
Water is now predicted to seep 30 centimetres higher in 15 to 18 years, affecting homes and shops much faster than previously thought.
Today, visitors to Mission Bay told told RNZ it was unwelcome news.
"I'm just wondering whether we will be able to enjoy all this, come 15 years. I'd love for it to stay this way," said Maitra.
"Yes [its a concern] for the current generation - but how about the kids? It's their future as well and their kids.
"That's quite fast and quite a lot of water. If we lose our beautiful beach, that's going to be really disappointing," said Jenny.
The threat of sea level rise isn't new to Tāmaki Drive.
Five years ago residents held a public meeting on the issue, and three years ago a study described waves crashing over the walls on Tāmaki Drive as a 'critical threat' which could cause damage to seawalls and pavement surfaces, and could potentially threaten pedestrians and cars.
That has happened in recent storms - and sandbags are used so commonly on Tāmaki Drive, the council intends to replace them with gates.
Tamaki Drive in Auckland is closed. Photo: RNZ / Sally Murphy Photo:
It's one of many steps, that Auckland Councillor Desley Simpson said was underway, along with the re-grouting of the 1930s sea wall.
The council has also raised whole sections of road by half a metre, and added stormwater catchments.
"We've already been doing something about it. Auckland Transport do get a bit of a hard time but in this case they've done incredible well," she said.
"We're confident now it won't take significant flooding as a result of that very expensive and intensive engineering...noting that Tāmaki Drive was originally built in the depression."
Waterfront properties fetch premium prices, and the sea level predictions are not deterring some prospective buyers, according to Barfoot & Thompson's Paula Kane.
"As buyers and as vendors - they aren't primarily saying 'hey I'm not going to buy a property because the waterline is going to come up'," she said.
"People want to live and enjoy this amazing environment we have right now. They could be run over by a bus tomorrow. So I don't feel its encroaching on the immediate property values along here and what people are prepared to pay."
An online NZ Sea Rise tool was launched today for checking the impacts of sea level rise on a particular address.
It was hit by a cyberattack which stopped people being able to check whether their areas are under threat.
