Pūkākā Link

The early priorities for high impact projects along the Pūkākā Link were identified as:

1. The West End Crossing (Devon Street, Queen Street and King Street)

The concept for the streets and spaces surrounding Ngāmotu house recognises the significant civic, commercial, hospitality and cultural contributions of the White Hart Building, the Len Lye Centre and Govett-Brewster Gallery, and Robe Park and Clock Tower to the vibrancy of the city. With the likely continuation of this given the increasing number of people working in the planned new commercial spaces, the concept creates a threshold into the city that galvanises these features and supports movement and activity in the city centre. Known as the West End Crossing, this project within the Pūkākā Link includes:

• The upgrade of Devon Street to include wider paths, low planting and street trees, tighter traffic lanes, additional parking and loading bays that combine to calm traffic to 30km/h and signal the entry to the city centre.
• A raised crossing over Devon Street by the Clock Tower to enable safe crossing to and from the park and commercial buildings.
• Creation of a shared space on upper Queen Street between Devon Street and King Street that builds on the attractions of the adjacent businesses and gallery spaces. The space will enable events and flexibility with more streamlined traffic management. Note: the existing one-way section between Devon and King streets would have its traffic flow reversed; traffic would remain two-way between King and St Aubyn streets.
• The upgrade of the King Street and Queen Street intersection to address driver visibility and pedestrian crossing issues. This includes raised crossings, kerb extensions and low planting.

The space between the White Hart, Len Lye Centre and Govett-Brewster Art Gallery is kept open and uncluttered, with simple planting bed arrangements and forms, low planting to keep view open. Paving is carried across Devon Street to beneath the Clock Tower and extends beyond Ngāmotu House as a unifying element between the unique architectural forms. The development plan includes works on King Street and Robe Street.

2. Cenotaph Civic Space Upgrade (Queen Street and St Aubyn Street/SH44)

The Cenotaph's location at this intersection makes it inaccessible to pedestrians.  There is no crossing point between Queen Street and the Coastal Walkway and the current layout hinders Anzac and other services due to traffic management requirements and costs.

A concept design for a civic open space around the Cenotaph has been created, which blocks off the western lane of Queen Street where it splits at the Cenotaph, leaving the eastern lane for vehicle traffic.

A trial using temporary measures will be used to test the concept with the community before moving to a more permanent solution.