Waiatarau / Victoria Park - integrating the park with the surrounding areas
About this opportunity
Waiatarau / Victoria Park is one of the few large green spaces within the city centre. It provides important space for sport, recreation and increasingly relaxation for a growing residential population.
Already a significant and highly valued open space asset, opportunity exists to increase the level of access, use and enjoyment of this park through closer integration of the park edges with surrounding streets and fast-growing urban neighbourhoods at Victoria and Wynyard quarters.
Why we want to do this
Closer integration will allow Victoria Park to no longer be an isolated green island and fulfil its potential to become a highly accessible central focus and green heart to the western half of the city centre.
This will help realise both Transformational move 2: The east and west stitch and Transformational move 6: The green link.
How it would happen
The masterplan identifies the following integration opportunities for Waitarau Victoria Park:
Better and safer access
Opening up of the park edges to surrounding streets over time with new and enhanced pathways and removal of movement barrier restrictions between the park and surrounding street edges for people while reducing the impacts of vehicle access and car parking.
A safe, direct and legible signalised crossing of Fanshawe Street for pedestrians and cyclists linking Victoria Park with the Daldy Street Linear Park and Wynyard Quarter.
Greater priority and enhanced access for people on foot and two wheels accessing the park at the other major junctions surrounding the park including the Victoria St junctions with Union/Franklin that is emerging as a major convergence point in the central city cycle network.
More greenery
Additional street trees, planting and street greening opportunities on surrounding streets to create distinctive park edge street typologies that extend the influence of the park within the surrounding area.
A more inviting open space at Halsey and Victoria streets
Respond to the creation of the Victoria Linear Park with a more generous and inviting gateway public space at the intersection of Halsey and Victoria streets.
This would act as a key marker and connection point within the wider network of Green Link connections.
Related resources
Related opportunities
