Knitting, flowers, live music and tea to make pedestrians smile

Knitted seat covers and flowers have appeared on Auckland's Victoria Street West as part of a scheme to beautify the city for pedestrians. Photo / Supplied

Knitted seat covers and flowers adorn Auckland's Victoria St West as part of a scheme to beautify the city for pedestrians.

Auckland Council collaborated with local artists to make the central city a more interesting place to walk and compensate for the building work being completed in the CBD, including work on the City Rail Link.

It is part of Stride Auckland, which encourages people to walk into town.

The street art project is a joint venture between the Auckland Council Design Office and Auckland Transport.

The flowers and craft on Auckland's Victoria Street West are part of a scheme to beautify the city for pedestrians. Photo / Supplied

"We want to remind people that walking into the city can be an enjoyable experience," said Kathryn King, Auckland Transport's cycling and walking manager.

Freelance artist Margaret Lewis was one of the "makers" working on the project.

"It's about creating surprises," she said.

The three artists who created the works also improvised activities and displays on the city streets.

There have been many visual displays, but also games of dominoes and live music.

On one occasion, they distributed cups of herbal tea to pedestrians.

They had been "working out what we could do to just make people smile and laugh", Ms Lewis said.

Soojeong Lee on the way to work with a cup of herbal tea at the corner of New North Rd and Symonds St. Photo / Supplied

A clothesline strung up on the footpath with warm clothing hanging from it was a display the public particularly responded to, she said.

The artists put up a sign inviting people to take an item of clothing, all of which were bought from local op shops.

"Every single item was taken," Ms Lewis said.

The response to the project had been generally positive - the artists have only encountered one "grumpy person", she said.

The council is encouraging people to share the experiences of walking into the city on Twitter and Facebook with the hashtag #StrideAkl.