Inner city attracts more pedestrians

Foot traffic in the central city is on the rise after efforts to revitalise the inner city. Photo / File

Efforts to revitalise Rotorua's inner city appear to be paying off with an increase in foot traffic recorded in the central city, bucking previous trends.

According to the latest foot traffic count conducted for the Rotorua Lakes Council there was an 8 per cent increase in pedestrians along Tutanekai St compared to the same period in 2013.

Across the wider central business district the average increase was 5.1 per cent while investment in Rotorua Central Mall's recent upgrade has seen a 21 per cent increase in foot traffic recorded at the complex.

The annual independent pedestrian count was carried out by the Property Institute of New Zealand at 37 separate locations across the central city in October.

Rotorua Lakes Council Inner City Revitalisation Portfolio leader councillor Karen Hunt said she was "cautiously optimistic" the inner city had turned the corner after a tough few years, and better times were ahead.

"The collaborative partnership effort with the Inner City Focus Group, local businesses and retailers to bring new life and vigour to the inner city, was starting to pay off - particularly our focus on strengthening Tutanekai St as the connecting 'spine' of the city."

She said the test would be whether these numbers could be sustained in the future, and hopefully built on further.

Inner City Focus Group spokesman Mike Steiner said the results were a reversal of recent trends for declining pedestrian volumes.

"We're hopeful that this is the start of a turnaround ... In the last 12 months or so there's been a huge effort by business operators and the council that's giving Rotorua a much needed shot in the arm, but we still have a long way to go."

The next step was to encourage innovative, entrepreneurial retailers and other businesses to increase their offering in Rotorua's inner city, he said.

Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick said the council was on track to achieve the key inner city priority goal to develop a vibrant city heart that attracts people and activity.

Key measures of success included fewer empty shops, more people on the streets, retailer optimism, more inner city diversity, and perceptions that the inner city was an exciting and safe place to be, she said. "The feedback I'm getting from retailers, food outlets, other business operators, shoppers and visitors alike, is that our inner city is a now a much more inviting and lively place than in the past."

Projects like the free parking trial, intersection upgrades, more pedestrian-friendly street crossings, Eat Streat, the Night Market, colourful murals, sculptures, tag-free walls, new public seating, landscaping and street plantings had all contributed to the growth in foot traffic, she said.

She said other initiatives on the horizon, like the proposed Green Corridor, cycle links, improved bus routes, central tourist coach stops, and more conveniently located campervan parking, should help keep the momentum going.