Nelson City Council calls for views on options for inner-city changes

Thursday, 11 June 2020

Nelson City Council central city working group chairman Pete Rainey talks about the 'City Centre Streets for People' project.

Nelson resident Siobhan Mooney took her preschool-aged daughter, Nia Samuel, for a walk in the city centre last Sunday.

Hand-in-hand the pair meandered along Trafalgar St, which was still under Covid-19 alert level 2 requirements at the time and quieter than usual. They looked in shop windows and even popped into a store.

For Nia, who turned 3 just the week earlier, it was her inaugural stroll along the main street.

'This is the first time I've walked in the city with her,' Mooney said. 'Normally, I take the pram because it's busy and there's no space for her to walk.'

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Nelson mum and daughter Siobhan Mooney and Nia Samuel, 3, during the youngster's first walk along Trafalgar St.

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Nelson City Council central city working group chairman Pete Rainey, left, and city centre development programme lead Alan Gray want feedback from the public on options for changes to some inner city streets.

The pair's experience comes as no surprise to the people behind a Nelson City Council project called City Centre Streets for People. Their survey findings suggest there is little in the central city for children under 5, where the footpaths are thoroughfares rather than places to hang out.

The days of angle parking along Trafalgar St may be numbered.

Making central Nelson more attractive for youngsters and their families is one of the aims behind a plan to revitalise the city, which includes three options for changing the layout of Trafalgar, Bridge and Hardy streets along with a fourth option of maintaining the existing streetscape.

Those options are out for public consultation until June 26.

Three options for Hardy St propose extending the footpath on the sunny side of the street with the potential loss of up to 25 parking spaces.

It is hoped the project will attract some Government funding. The three options for change with their estimated costs are:

1. Widening the footpath to 6m on both sides of Trafalgar St between Halifax and Hardy streets as well as the sunny side of Hardy and Bridge streets between Rutherford and Collingwood streets. Parking would become parallel on Trafalgar St and the existing parallel parking on Hardy and Bridge streets would be restricted to one side. There are 134 angle car parks along that section of Trafalgar St along with 25 along the sunny side of Hardy St and 36 along the sunny side of Bridge St. Estimated cost of up to $3.1 million.

Three options for Bridge St propose extending the footpath on the sunny side of the street with the potential loss of up to 36 parking spaces.

2. Widening the footpath to 8.5m on both sides of that inner section of Trafalgar St and 6m on the sunny side of Hardy and Bridge streets. Under this option, parking would be removed from Trafalgar St. Estimated cost of up to $4.7m

3. Closing Trafalgar St to vehicles, making it pedestrian only along with an extension of the footpaths on the sunny side of Hardy and Bridge streets. Estimated cost of $800,000 to $12m.

City centre working group chairman councillor Pete Rainey said the options were starting points and could be changed.

Each option would be achieved with semi-permanent fixtures, such as wooden footpath extensions and planter boxes.

Tasman District resident Fay Christie is concerned about the potential loss of car parks in the city centre with three of the options.

'The actual design will not be done until council hears [residents'] ideas and feedback,' Rainey said. 'This is a chance for our community to help us create a new look and feel for our city centre streets to benefit both our city and our economy – if they’re ready for a change.'

Deputy mayor Judene Edgar said the council was keen to hear any other suggestions people might have.

'We might get a totally different idea no-one has thought of,' Edgar said. 'We truly want feedback.'

Any work could be a few years down the track and would not be done in isolation. Outcomes of reviews of the council's parking strategy and public transport would also be factored into any revitalisation.

Tasman District resident Fay Christie said she came into Nelson on a regular basis from the Moutere and was concerned about any loss of parking spaces.

'Parking is already an issue,' Christie said, adding there was no bus service she could use as an alternative means for getting into the city.

'Where would I park? They've got to compensate for [any loss in] parking.'

Edgar said the city council did not want to ostracise people from Tasman District or anyone else who could not walk, bus or bike into the city centre.

'We've got to take the time to get it right,' she said.

Feedback on the options can be made via the City Centre Streets for People Survey on shape.nelson.govt.nz. Paper copies are available at Civic House or can be downloaded from the nelson.govt.nz/ website.

Mooney said the plan to attract families with young children sounded great.

'We'd come into the city more often with things to occupy [Nia],' she said.