A vision for the central city

Thursday, 11 June 2020

People dine in Upper Trafalgar St, Nelson, after the street was permanently closed to traffic.

OPINION: The Nelson City Council has a tremendous opportunity to revitalise our central city with its proposed City Centre Streets for People initiative.

The changes offered up for discussion include removing car parks on the south side of Hardy and Bridge streets, and several options for Trafalgar St, including one with no cars at all.

Here at the Nelson Mail, we've had a discussion about what we would like to see, and we are excited about the prospect of the proposed changes.

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

People love to be able to park outside the shop they are visiting, and we get that. Some say they will simply go to Richmond and shop at the mall if on-street car parks are removed. But seriously, we have three central city car parks in Nelson with safe pedestrian access. If you go to Richmond you still aren't parking outside the shop you want to visit. You are parking in a car park and walking to the mall. Same difference.

**READ MORE:

Quatour Stomp perform in the Nelson Buskers Festival on a closed Trafalgar St, attracting large crowds.

* Retailer rumbles force council to halt Nelson city footpath widening

* Church St upgrade to focus on pedestrians, outdoor dining and social events

* Nelson's Hardy St business lobby for outdoor dining spaces

Pedestrians frequently stop the traffic as they walk along Trafalgar St.

By making the central city more appealing to pedestrians, it will attract more people to spend time in the city. That is a fact backed up by statistics, and is evident in any city you go to which has a pedestrian precinct.

Chief news director Sally Kidson is keen to see some brave decisions made and hopes people approach the process with an open mind. 'Too often change is stymied by a vocal minority.' She is keen to see retailers open later as they do in cities around the world, even once a week, to encourage people to stay in the city after work rather than heading straight home.

News director Barnaby Sharp says the model that Nelson has been operating on is archaic. It fails businesses and it fails consumers. 'Vibrant cities invite people in, giving them more than just a one-shop experience. Closing Trafalgar St to traffic is the future, when Nelson has for too long been stuck in the past.'

Reporter Cherie Sivignon, who lives in Richmond, says 'We need safe places to sit and eat lunch or enjoy a takeaway coffee and a chat. We are blessed with fabulous weather in Nelson, we should be making the most of it.'

On a similar weather-based theme, reporter Amy Ridout says we should have more festivals and events, especially in the winter when it's dead. 'The weather gets trotted out as an excuse but look at Wellington, it's humming in the winter with their craft beer, food and arts fests - why aren't we doing that for Matariki or something?' She also suggests more opportunities for ordinary people to have a go at putting on a show, setting up a stall, or holding an event for free.

Upper Trafalgar St after it was closed to traffic.

Visual journalist Braden Fastier says a model like Wellington's Cuba St could work well, with the cross streets of Hardy and Bridge remaining open. A permanent stage or play area on part of the closed section could also be a drawcard.

How much would it really change our habits now? Think about Saturday mornings, for example. It is basically impossible to drive down Trafalgar St with the large numbers of pedestrians crossing to and from the market. How much nicer would it be if you had somewhere to gather and linger, catching up with friends or eating the food you've just purchased.

We need to be encouraging people to walk or cycle, rather than hopping in the car for a short trip to town, and perhaps removing some car parks will stimulate that.

So yes, we think we should expand the footpaths and seating areas. The big question is, which Trafalgar St option will work the best.

It may need some tinkering, but whichever one is chosen will improve our inner city experience.

The worst thing we can do is stick with the status quo.

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.