Whakatāne District Council has secured funding from a second round of the Government’s Innovating Streets pilot fund, which aims to make streets more people-friendly.
Waka Kotahi has this week confirmed that Whakatāne District Council has been successful in its application for two projects: the Wairaka/Muriwai Neighbourhood Greenway Pilot and Transforming Kopeopeo.
The Wairaka/Muriwai Neighbourhood Greenway project will work towards creating a people-focused neighbourhood, promoting active modes of transport and supporting safer traffic speeds through the area, while enabling better connections between the Whakatāne River and the Wairaka/Muriwai area. The project will be co-developed and co-designed with the local Hapū, supported by Te Runanga o Ngāti Awa, and the local community. The Innovating Streets funding will allow for a range of traffic-calming and neighbourhood enhancing techniques to be trialed and tested, before permanent infrastructure improvements follow in future years.
The Transforming Kopeopeo project aims to utilise this fantastic opportunity, to allow the community to reimagine how the commercial section of King Street in Kopeopeo could function in the future.
There is community desire and support to create a place that is livable, invigorating and engaging for local people, as well as enabling businesses in the area to thrive. The current configuration is dominated by vehicles moving through or parking, but there is some nervousness around making major permanent changes. Some of this is due to the uncertainty around potential impacts to businesses already been impacted by Covid-19. The Innovating Streets funding opportunity means community groups can lead the trailing and testing of options to change the status-quo, in a low risk, reversible manner.
The applications were prepared in collaboration with community advocates passionate about enabling step changes to improve the liveability of our community: Erin Green; Richard Hamer; Rebecca MacKay; Carolyn Hamill; and Joe Metcalf, supported by Mayor Turner, Cr. Tánczos, Whakatāne Ōhope Community Board Chair Moira Hanna, Te Runanga o Ngāti Awa and Toi Te Ora.
Innovating Streets Project Manager, Ann-Elise Reynolds, says there are a wide range of potential benefits stemming from these successful funding applications that go well beyond the potential physical works.
"The funding provides valuable opportunities to experiment with initiatives and options before locking ourselves into permanent changes. But just as importantly, the collaborative approach to Innovating Streets is also a chance to build Council’s partnerships with Iwi and the community in the delivery of these kinds of community focused-projects," she says.
Two other applications to the fund (Hinemoa/James Street Roundabout improvements for active modes and Goulstone Road separated cycle lane and crossing improvements) were unsuccessful. The four project applications were derived from a list of other similar initiatives, all aiming to contribute towards Council’s Active Whakatāne Strategy.
The unsuccessful projects and those that didn’t make it to the application stage still plan to be implemented over time through Council's Active Whakatāne Implementation Plan (which Council will be doing further community engagement on as part of the 2021-31 Long Term Plan).
Details of the Round 2 funding are still being finalised, but the assistance is in addition to funding secured in June through the first round of applications. This provides opportunities to activate parts of the Whakatāne Town Centre Heart to help inform more permanent changes through the Provincial Growth Fund co-funded Town Centre Revitalisation Project.
Waka Kotahi says they received a large number of applications from around the country for both rounds and are encouraged by the enthusiasm for transitioning local streets to be safer and more livable.