Linger not loiter is aim of makeover
Getting people to linger rather than loiter is the aim of a $65,000 makeover of the area under Porirua’s Canopies, which kicked off last week.
‘‘I thought it was a birthday party,’’ Porirua Community Guardian Hawea Matenga said as she watched the volunteers work.
‘‘ It’s nice to have something colourful and different.’’
Fifteen volunteers have been working with Porirua City Council since June on ideas to make the city centre space – described as intimidating and uncared for – more welcoming.
‘‘For years and years we’ve been doing what councils tend to do – big expensive design projects involving a lot of consultation. Clearly it wasn’t working,’’ Porirua City Centre Revitalisation co- ordinator Harriet Shelton said.
This project was a way of working with the community instead of doing things to them, she said.
The aim of the makeover was to break up the space and get people spending time in it.
‘‘ This big space spreads the party too thin,’’ Shelton said.
About 300sqm of astroturf is being installed as well as new seating, planter boxes, a stage, moveable chairs and tables, and 8km of ribbon will be strung up underneath the Canopies.
Volunteer Ensiyeh Ghavamp- our said it was hoped to also get food vendors into the space, which would again encourage more people to spend time there.
‘‘If you make it more liveable and run activities, you have less crime here because you have more people around,’’ she said.
Paremata’s Hamish Matthews said everything the volunteers were doing, including putting in a stage, was aimed at getting people to ‘‘slow up’’ and use the space rather than just walking through it.
‘‘The stage is all about having performers here, whether it’s musicians, comedians or religious nutters up there.
‘‘It’s all about bringing people back into the centre rather than it being a thoroughfare.
‘‘It’s breathing some life back into the centre.’’
The Canopies are due to come down because they have reached the end of their life and are at risk of failing.
However, Shelton said no date for that had been set and the team had been assured it would not disrupt the makeover.