The Pulse of Broadway

Last Saturday produced a sight few have seen outside a tertiary graduation: Broadway closed to traffic and filled with people, as thousands came to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Pulse Urban Festival.

With splendid chalk artwork in the middle of the street, wearable art parades, and athletic parkour enthusiasts hurling themselves over benches and off scaffolding, it was a true feast for the eyes and ears.

"It's fabulous. All of us are right on board," said Debbie Dahlberg of Creative Journeys, an artistic group working with those with intellectual disabilities. "All our artists are excited to see it growing."

The grafitti artists have come up from Wellington; the body painters from Auckland. They were tremendously excited by what Pulse created, and can't wait to come back again.

What did the absence of traffic mean for Broadway business? Some were able to move onto the footpath to take advantage of the larger crowds. Nut seller Timothy Beale had moved from his normal George Street location and was doing a roaring trade.

"It's a nice thing to get the community together," he said, handing a bag of delicious treats to a customer. "It's great for people to come out and talk to people they don't normally talk to."

Off the street it wasn't quite so rosy. Staff at Ocean & Ice estimated business was only a quarter of a normal Saturday. They said that the shop was a retail destination, that didn't really rely on foot traffic, so the absence of parking - already under pressure from the strict Council regime - was a blow. There were plenty of browsers, but not as many were buying.

Over the road at Hipster it was a similar story, although staff were more upbeat, suggesting that the mid-semester break was responsible for fewer customers. They thought the festival was a brilliant idea but suggested it had needed to be advertised more widely. At the end of the day, the Pulse organisers gathered to discuss its lessons and make notes for next year. One thing was clear: they're only just getting started.