Henderson’s streets will soon come to life with colour and activities designed to make the streets in the town centre safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
Called ‘Henderson Streets for People’, the project will bring colour and vibrancy to the streets, making it safer for all types of transport moving through the town centre, strengthening transports links, creating more welcoming and people-friendly spaces and supporting local businesses.
This could include painted designs on the road, installations of colourful planter boxes, road layout changes and pop-up activities. The changes are temporary in nature, so if successful they can be made permanent, and if not, they can be removed.
It will be delivered by a group of Henderson locals in partnership with Panuku Development Auckland (Panuku) thanks to funding through the Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s Innovating Streets Programme.
Panuku is committed, through its urban regeneration programme, to deliver a flourishing urban eco-centre for Henderson. One of Panuku’s priorities is to improve walking and cycling connections through the town centre for residents, commuters and visitors. The Henderson Streets for People project will focus on improving walking and cycling routes between the Henderson Train Station, through the town centre to the twin streams, along Ratanui Street and Great North Road.
Panuku’s Priority Location Director for Henderson John Carter explains that this project is a key way of co-creating the future of Henderson as a flourishing urban eco-centre. “Henderson’s Streets for People is about celebrating the things that are already good about Henderson and making them much more prominent in the heart of Henderson’s main street – fantastic local artwork, the proximity of natural assets like the Twin Streams and great connections to parks, pools and public transport- all led by and for local Henderson people.”
Ingrid Papau and Brooke Loader of Henderson-Massey Local Board are strong supporters of the project to improve the Henderson town centre to make it more welcoming and safer to travel through.
“One of our focus areas within our Local Board Plan is for improvements to the walking and cycling network in Henderson-Massey,” says Ingrid.
“We work closely with Panuku and Auckland Transport and it’s great that this project has been able to progress in what has been a challenging year for everyone.”
Brooke agrees and is excited about the opportunity to bring the streets to life. “This is a great opportunity for everyone to contribute to how we can bring colour and life to the town centre streets, as well as make it safer for everyone to move through,” says Brooke.
“It is a tight timeline so I encourage the community to participate and can’t wait to see it installed early next year.”
Auckland Council’s Community Empowerment Unit is supporting Panuku to work alongside key community representatives from Te Kawerau ā Maki, the Henderson-Massey Local Board, community leaders, businesses, residents and agencies to form an advisory group. In November, the group provided a range of ideas on ways the co-design sessions could run with two main messages flowing through - to keep the sessions informal and interactive. Panuku took this information and developed the concept of creating a temporary ‘pop-up shop’ to host co-design or ‘mini conversations’ with locals.
How do I get involved?
Drop into the Pop-up Shop, located at 16 Railside Ave, Henderson. We are open until 19 December 2020, between 10am and 4pm and look forward to having you participate.
We will trial various ideas gathered on the road in February 2021, tweaking them along the way to see what works best.
To stay informed and find out how you can participate visit Henderson Streets for People.
