Lower Victoria Avenue co-design underway
Published on 11 December 2020
The co-design process for lower Victoria Avenue has kicked off, after central government funding was secured to design a temporary, vibrant streetscape to attract people into the area to interact with each other and local businesses.
Town Centre Regeneration Project Manager, Ellen Young, says she’s really enjoyed engaging with the twenty lower Victoria Avenue stakeholders – including businesses, residents and mana whenua representatives – who attended the first workshop and their response has been generally positive.
“These stakeholders know what a great opportunity we have here with central government funding now available for 90% of a project that was always part of our Town Centre Regeneration Plan.
“They understand the benefits this project brings, in terms of both the economy and community wellbeing.”
Ellen Young says award-winning landscape designer, Craig Pocock, is co-facilitating the workshops and the vision the group developed together at the first workshop was for lower Victoria Avenue to become a destination.
“As the gateway to our central business district, lower Victoria Avenue is ripe for revitalisation. We want to create a space that catches the attention of passers-by and appeals to locals when they’re looking for somewhere to socialise and spend time.
“There’s a whole range of tactics we can use to create atmosphere and encourage pedestrian activity, whether it’s adding greenery, installing seating, painting a large-scale artwork on the road – to link the awa to the main street – or adding hanging artwork or festoon lighting to create a sparkling ceiling to enclose the outdoor area.”
She says the designer will now draft up three initial concepts, based on ideas and advice shared by the community at the workshop, and in the new year a second workshop will be held to choose a preferred option to be refined. A key consideration during the process will be ensuring the changes align well with existing services and operations.
Ellen Young says Whanganui is part of a large group of councils nationwide who are benefitting from Waka Kotahi’s Innovating Streets fund. A community of practice has been created to support councils as they implement projects using a proven method of trialling temporary, high-quality upgrades that can be modified in response to feedback on the project.
“We’re really fortunate here in Whanganui because we’ve received Innovating Streets funding for not only lower Victoria Avenue, but for Drews Avenue as well, so we have the chance to develop two inter-related, complementary spaces that will boost Whanganui’s profile and make our town centre more people-friendly.”
After the second stakeholder workshop there will be an opportunity for the wider community to engage in the project.
The lower Victoria Avenue project is expected to be completed in June 2021, with a community event to celebrate the upgrades.
Once the temporary installation is live, pedestrian counters will be used to monitor changes in foot traffic in the area and feedback will be collected on an ongoing basis to determine the effect of the changes.