Auckland Council’s Creating Safer Streets – Emily Place entry has won a Waka Kotahi Agent for Change award, announced this week.
The Emily Place pilot saw Auckland Council working with the community to trial ways to make the street and neighbourhood reserve a safer and more pleasant place for residents, visitors, and businesses.
It was funded through the Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s Innovating Streets programme with support from Auckland Council’s City Centre Targeted Rate.
Waitematā Local Board Chair, Richard Northey said when the work began a year ago: “Emily Place has a rich history. It was the location of Point Britomart and where the original shoreline used to be. Jutting out in the form of a huge point and then dropping in sheer cliffs into the Waitematā, it was one of the most thrilling pieces of our harbour landscape.”
“The winding, steep terrain and wide streets made it particularly dangerous for pedestrians. With some changes, we can create an attractive walking connection between Britomart Station and the universities, and a reserve that provides an intimate outdoor space for residents and workers to enjoy.”
Auckland Council Project Lead, Claire Davis said the pilot was the first in a series of stages to improve Emily Place.
“This pilot gets some immediate improvements in place and will help inform more permanent upgrades for Emily Place in the future,” she said.
“This is a wonderful acknowledgement of our mahi in Emily Place, and the value of tactical urbanism as an approach to renewing our city spaces in a collaborative way with the community.”
Ten councils were awarded Agent for Change trophies in recognition of their outstanding contribution to transforming street spaces.
