Innovating Streets is a Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency initiative to help Councils create more people-friendly streets. Our vision for this project is to establish streets that are a great place to live, and the community can connect, and thrive.

This project is a trial, where we test things to determine if they work. If they don’t work, then we can quickly make changes.

Phase 1 of the project has just been completed. The aim of this phase was to slow down vehicles and reduce through traffic.

A community BBQ was held on Saturday 19 December where a range of feedback was received. Overall attendees were positive about the changes made, though there were some areas of concern. From the feedback we made some immediate changes, removing the safety poles on the build-outs and filling the gaps with another planter box.

Community voices have been essential for this project. From the beginning the team reached out to the community to understand what the concerns were, and ways that we could potentially address those concerns. Travel surveys where completed and in July a pop-up event was held at the Nelson South Kindergarten. The general consensus was that the streets around Nelson south were vehicle orientated and not safe for pedestrians and cyclists.

What’s next?

There will be a number of parts to Phase 2. It will focus on connecting the community with destinations such as schools, Victory Community Centre and the railway reserve. This will include enhancing pedestrian and cycling safety.

We’ve received some feedback that some community members didn’t feel they were informed enough about what Phase 1 included. To make sure your voice is heard, please join with the rest of the Nelson South Community to help us design the options for Phase 2.

There is currently a community survey on Shape Nelson. Or we are happy to drop off a copy to you.

Please help us create a safer, more connected Nelson South neighbourhood.

So far some of the suggestions we have had for changes to the Nelson South streets are shown below – what do you think?