CBD project gets $1m funding
A project to make Nelson’s CBD a more pedestrian-friendly space has been granted up to $1m worth of funding from central government.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has offered Nelson City Council the funds to be used as part of the council’s City Centre Streets for People project.
As part of the project, four options were put before the public for consultation (which finished on June 26), including widening the footpath in the central city and closing Trafalgar St to vehicles completely.
The agency’s Innovating Streets programme provides 90 per cent funding up to $1 million for projects designed to make streets safer, with more space for people, and which test temporary or semi-permanent layouts, materials and designs ahead of permanent upgrades.
Projects that received funding need to be completed by the end of June 2021.
City centre working group chairman councillor Pete Rainey said while there was general agreement on the need to improve the city centre experience, the tricky part was getting a consensus on the best solution.
‘‘We have been gifted this resource, but how, or if, we use it is up to our community.’’
Rainey said the funding had been targeted more at Council Options 1 and 2, which focused on widening footpaths in the city centre to various degrees and reduced car parks.
He said the funds would be less likely to be available in the Option 3 proposal to make Trafalgar St pedestrian-only, due to the probable scope of that project and need to go to further public consultation.
He said the funding itself would be used for temporary physical changes to the inner city, which could be removed if they were ineffective or re-used for trials in other areas.
The feedback survey received more than 600 submissions, which are now being collated and reviewed before going to a full council meeting on August 12 for consideration.
Mayor Rachel Reese said the investment was a welcome step forward in Nelson’s post-COVID-19 recovery.