NEWS RELEASE
8 January 2008
Work starts on new Courtenay Place Park
Construction of a new park area at the intersection of Courtenay Place and Taranaki Street is starting this week.
Contractors were today erecting temporary fencing around the site to create a safe working environment for the project,
which is expected to take about three months.
The $1.1 million park will improve the quality of public space within the central city and create a safer pedestrian
environment and crossing point on Taranaki Street.
The main features of the design are:
- an open paved area for events, markets, performances and theatre crowds
- a double row of trees and ‘light boxes’ for displaying art
- attractive new seating
- stormwater runoff captured and used to water the trees
- removal of the slip lane from Courtenay Place to Taranaki Street (new carparking spaces will be provided around the
park and in nearby York Street – off Taranaki Street).
City Council Public Space Design Manager Geoffrey Snedden says construction of the park in earnest follows work last
year on the intersection itself – which will allow traffic from Courtenay Place to turn left into Taranaki Street.
He says a possible future use for the old Taranaki Street men’s toilets – a heritage building on the site - will again
be considered once the park is “up and running”.
ENDS