Work to make Grey St more people-friendly starts later this month

The total cost of the project to make part of Grey Street more people-friendly and vibrant has risen to $900,000, due to increased construction costs and to ensure the designs meet community aspirations. Work on the project gets under way at the end of this month. File picture

Temporary changes to Grey Street, aimed at making a section of it more people-friendly and vibrant,  get under way from Monday, April 29.

Gisborne District Council is in partnership with Tairāwhiti Adventure Trust (TAT), which is delivering the $900,000 project, supported financially by Waka Kotahi through its Streets for People programme.

TAT chair Haimona Ngata said they were “over the moon excited” to finally see all the hard work come to fruition.

“As a volunteer community organisation, we have worked non-stop on this project for the past year.

“There has been huge national and international interest in this project from some of the world’s most renowned mode shift experts due to the unique narrative of this project and the collaborative approach between TAT, the council and Waka Kotahi,” Mr Haimona said.

Work is expected to take four weeks during which detours and traffic management will be in place.

The Streets for People project will cover the area from the Childers Road roundabout to the pedestrian crossing by Alfred Cox Skate Park.

The temporary interventions will include planter boxes and pedestrian crossings to slow traffic and make the area a safer space for everyone to enjoy.

“The skatepark is a very popular place in our city for children and adults of all ages,” council community lifelines director Tim Barry said.

“This work will transform this area of Grey Street to encourage more people to use different modes of transport and get an idea of how we can make roads work better for those not travelling around in cars.

“For those who do drive through the area, these changes will add less than a minute to your travel time,” he said.

“These installations will be in place for two years to give our community the look and feel of them before permanent decisions are made.

“We hope people will head to this area or pass through it on their way to the central city or the beach and see how small changes can bring big benefits.”

Me Barry said the council would also appreciate public feedback on the design.

“Please, have your say on our website.”

The total cost of the project has risen to $900,000 due to increased construction costs and to ensure the designs meet community aspirations.

Waka Kotahi is funding 90 percent of those costs while the council is contributing the rest.

The Streets for People programme, Hei Huarahi Oranga, has been funded by $30 million from the National Land Transport Fund.