Editorial: Let's dream big and make the most of waterfront

I've long felt that Tauranga's waterfront area is its most under-utilised asset.

The waterfront that our struggling CBD sits around is at once both beautiful and an eyesore. The harbour itself is breathtaking, but until the playground was installed, it was surrounded mostly by bland concrete and cars. What a waste. The playground is a good start, but it's just that - a start.

On Wednesday, Tauranga City Council's elected members voted 6-3 to invest $12 million in the waterfront and CBD, subject to consultation.

All I could think was, 'about time!'

Projects include creating three public accesses to the water from The Strand, either steps or pontoons, turning the Northern Reclamation carpark into an empty green space suitable for events, and beautifying the streets, particularly in Durham St where the new tertiary campus and Trustpower buildings will be situated. Each of these projects is subject to consultation separately and will have to go through a detailed business analysis.

Many have said $12m isn't enough, and while they have a point, surely we should all be grateful that the council is at least doing something to make the most of this beautiful natural asset at the heart of our city.

Now is our chance to dream big, look at how other cities around the world have made the most of their waterfronts and continue the work started by the playground.

Wellington, Melbourne and San Francisco are a few examples of well-utilised waterfronts. They are great areas that draw people in - locals and visitors alike spend time (and, more importantly, money) and enjoy the vibrancy these well-planned public areas offer a city.

It's time we looked at our waterfront as a place for people, not cars. If you plan your city around its people, you can create something truly magical. Even Rotorua has managed it, albeit on a much smaller scale, with its pedestrian-only Eat Streat area.

Access to the water is a great start, but there's more to it than that. It's about designing the landscape around people. Look at Wellington's waterfront - from restaurants and TSB Arena, to Te Papa, Frank Kitts Park and Waitangi Park by Chaffers St - the way in which people will use and interact with each area has been considered as part of its design. The pathways around the Waitangi skate park are limestone chip, freeing up zones for pedestrians to walk without risk of colliding with skateboarders.

It's these simple considerations in the design of public spaces that Tauranga needs to work on. Our cycle bridge from Matapihi is great, but look at where you end up in the CBD - in a slightly industrial back end of The Strand. Visitors couldn't be blamed for thinking they may have taken a wrong turn. Where's the connection from there to the rest of the CBD and waterfront? There isn't even adequate signage. And that's just one example.

We need public spaces that interact and connect, taking people on a journey around our CBD and its attractions. If we design an area for people, local businesses will thrive. It's people who bring life to a city. It's people who shop and drink coffee and eat out. If we create a great public space around our waterfront, people will have a reason to come into the CBD and the city will spring back to life.

The council has given us a great opportunity. If we want Tauranga to grow into the great city its landscape is begging it to become, we need to pipe up and tell the council what we want. We need to dream big, think long term and imagine a city where its people and businesses thrive.

Investment in our waterfront and CBD could be the start of something incredible for this city. It's not a big investment, but it's a start. And every city has to start somewhere.