This opinion piece was published in the Nelson Mail, 11 October 2025

OPINION: Renovating a house while you live in it is a chaotic affair. Furniture stacked inconveniently, wet paint to avoid, tools piled around the place. The disruption is inevitable, annoying, and frustrating. It requires careful planning to make it work, and it can feel like too much at times, but ultimately, the result makes it worth it. That’s exactly where Whakatū finds itself with the Bridge to Better project.

As a city, we’re embarking on a major renovation that will test our patience, but promises a more accessible, attractive, and usable city centre for residents, visitors, and businesses alike. Preliminary works have already begun, and over the next 21 months we’ll be progressively transforming Bridge Street into a distinctly Whakatū Nelson streetscape, while upgrading supporting infrastructure to enable more housing, investment, and resilience in our city centre. While there is no doubt that the disruption caused by these works will be tough and at times felt acutely, together we can overcome them to realise the collective benefits.

During my time at Council, I’ve overseen countless infrastructure projects. While I’ve always been proud of the engagement and care taken to minimise disruption, I can honestly say the way the project team, our contractor Isaac Construction, and impacted businesses are navigating Bridge to Better takes that effort to another level. There’s a sense of collective responsibility to make sure that not only the finished result is a success, but that throughout the works we’re paying attention to individual needs, accommodating requests, and workshopping issues. It’s a genuinely impressive logistical feat. The project team’s door is always open, and they’ve already shown they’re willing to work alongside those affected to get through this together.

That commitment isn’t abstract posturing, it’s ongoing things like scheduling work for when nearby businesses are closed, avoiding noisy work during opening hours, helping to get goods in and rubbish out, and designing traffic management plans to ensure residents with limited mobility can still access the business and services they need. And there’s also the unexpected benefits change can bring about – stories of people discovering new businesses and increased pie and flower sales due to pedestrians being diverted, retailers taking initiative to display items in innovative ways, and even an Isaac team member stepping into help rescue a car stranded in an intersection.

These things may seem minor, but together they show the care, flexibility and partnership that must go into keeping the city functioning while it’s being improved. But there will still be frustration and pain. Minimising disruption does not remove disruption. And there is no expectation that this will be easy.

And so, I want to acknowledge the resilience of those affected – the attitude that says yes, this is tough, but we know where we’re heading. And I want to acknowledge the support of wider Nelsonians – the decision to navigate traffic management to still support your local favourite, because we know they’ll need it. We’re already seeing this shine through, and I am confident we’ll continue to throughout this project.

The light at the end of the tunnel is bright. We know from other revitalisation projects and conversations on the ground that this kind of investment in core infrastructure will lead to significant private investment, more housing in a city that remains painfully unaffordable, and create exciting new opportunities for retail and hospitality activation. Bridge Street will emerge as a vibrant, accessible, and resilient part of Nelson — a city centre that reflects the pride and potential of our community.

We’re renovating our home while living in it, and while that’s a challenge, with collaboration, creativity, and patience, the results can transform the everyday into something extraordinary. Bridge to Better is our city’s chance to do just that.