West stitch

Transformation of Hobson and Nelson streets to become more liveable green city avenues, reflecting how they pass through the densest residential neighbourhood in New Zealand.

Local pedestrian and place making improvements to the lower level slip lane on Nelson Street between Union and Cook streets.

This will encourage pedestrian use and provide better public space in this fast-growing western edge of the city centre.

Pedestrian and public space enhancements to this key city to village connection.

This links Freeman’s Bay Primary School with New Zealand's densest residential neighbourhood centred on Hobson, Nelson and Union streets.

The northwest facing slopes of the Victoria Quarter between the Nelson Street ridge and Victoria Park are fast redeveloping. Union and Sale streets in particular are experiencing high levels of development activity.

Significant further mixed-use development opportunity remains for the future, particularly the large and under-developed City Works Depot site between Wellesley and Cook streets.

The City Centre Masterplan envisages a future for Waiatarau / Victoria Park that's no longer an isolated green island. Closer integration will allow the park to fulfil its potential as a highly accessible green heart and central focus to the western half of the city centre.

It will reach out to enrich its surroundings by creating new park street edges on all four sides stitching the Victoria and Wynyard quarters with Freemans Bay and city fringe.

Victoria Quarter has some very large blocks and east-west street pattern that makes walking more difficult than other parts of the city centre.

These would benefit from new and improved north-south, mid-block pedestrian links between Cook and Union streets in the south and the waterfront across Fanshawe Street in the north.

Victoria linear park is the flagship opportunity of Transformational move 6: The Green Link.

It will make a significant contribution to the east stitch goal of seamless east-west pedestrian linkages along and across the big streets linking the Victoria Quarter back to Waihorotiu / Queen Street Valley.

Wellesley Street will become the main public transport corridor travelling east-west through the midtown area of the city centre.

In the west, new expanded bus stops will be located in the blocks between Victoria Park and Sale Street, and outside the New Zealand International Convention Centre.

These will provide much better public transport access and experience.

There are opportunities for enhanced pedestrian and public spaces,  particularly where Wellesley Street meets Victoria Street.