Sculpture and art installations are set to adorn Dominion Rd in a plan to turn the busy thoroughfare into an "art-erial".
Albert-Eden Local Board chairman Peter Haynes came up with the idea.
"It aims to use public art to excite, delight and satisfy the large numbers of Aucklanders and tourists who use or visit Dominion Rd," he says.
The concept will be part of a regeneration of the corridor and he says it will make often lengthy journeys more interesting.
Parklets - small strips of roadside given over to temporary art or landscaping - originated in San Francisco. Its first parklet opened in 2010, and there are now 27, with dozens more in the pipeline. Streetfront business owners, non-profits and community groups can apply to have them built, often taking over a carpark.
The Dominion Rd parklets could be installed on wide sections of footpath rather than the road, as buses need those lanes at peak times.
Dr Haynes describes the art-erial idea as a "once in a lifetime opportunity", saying it help link Kingsland and Valley Rd village centres through an art walk.
"The road is due to be upgraded in the next two years and there's a possibility of including installation spaces into the design," he says.
Auckland Council owns or has designations over several sites on Dominion Rd. Dr Haynes says the best time for the arterial to be created will be during the road's upgrade. Preference will be given to local creatives and businesses to come up with designs.
But at the heart of the idea is a Billy Apple Art Walk, a possible trail to three existing sculptures near Eden Park made by the renowned conceptual artist for the Rugby World Cup.
"The Billy Apple pieces constitute about half of the public art pieces in our area, but are by far the most significant," says Dr Haynes.
Mr Apple's works include Corner Post, on the corner of Walters and Sandringham Rd, Wairepo Swamp Walk, the Monkey Hill Reserve steps on Walters Rd, and a mural planned for the Albert-Eden Local Board offices.
"We are leveraging off what we already have," says Dr Haynes. "The board has to be very careful with its money, as it has very limited funding.
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"The arterial road idea came to me when we were preparing to meet officers to discuss the Billy Apple Art Walkconcept. Melbourne has its laneways, where it holds art events and installations in its inner-city lanes, partly to rejuvenate them.
"I thought, why should all public art have to be in the city centre? What about the people who live and work elsewhere?
"What we have in Auckland is arterials. If we were going to have art events and installations on any arterial, Dominion Rd, with all its colour and chaos, is the obvious choice."
Mr Apple says if he was invited to contribute he would consider works using geometry and the median strip to link the top of the road to the bottom.
Dr Haynes says up to six other sculptures could be installed at Bellevue and Ballantyne Square Reserves, Potters Park and the intersection of Dominion and Balmoral roads.
Local board notes show a "splash pad", including water features and fountains for children, is to be installed at Potters Park and a piece of sculpture could complement the site.
Auckland Transport is looking at possible installation sites and the board will be briefed next week.
Dr Haynes says administration costs for the roadside spaces trial will need to be met by Auckland Council, but it won't cover materials and installation costs.
"We [the local board] can't meet all the costs ourselves - but given the clear benefits of the project, we would look to the governing body to give it serious consideration."
Dr Haynes says public input will happen when the Dominion Rd upgrade is considered. Trish Clark, the chairwoman of Auckland Council's advisory panel for public art, says the council is committed to assisting local boards in developing "the best public art outcomes for their areas. The road upgrade is the perfect opportunity to integrate public art projects, as was done with Billy Apple's existing works in the Eden area," she says.
But she says any decision is some way off and the different options will be discussed with Auckland Transport, the local board and artists.
Dominion Road Business Association manager Gary Holmes says the arterial idea is "innovative" and will add to the road's character.
"It's been neglected for many years and hasn't had the infrastructure and investment required.
"It's often hard to achieve colour and variety on a road as busy as this - but with upgrades about to happen, it's a perfect fit."
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