Media release
23 June 2014
Pocket Park trials ideas for Quay Street
A micro-park that popped up on Quay Street over the weekend gives Aucklanders a glimpse of design elements that could be
part of Quay Street’s future transformation.
The upgrade of Quay Street is one of the first ‘transformational moves’ identified in the council’s City Centre
Masterplan 2012 which describes the potential that Quay Street has to become a world-class waterfront boulevard and a
stunning harbour-edge gateway to the city centre.
The park is part of the Auckland Council’s Quay Street Early Initiatives Programme to test ideas under consideration for
Quay Street place-making.
The semi-permanent ‘Pocket Park on Quay’ is positioned outside the PWC building on Quay Street. It re-purposes a
recessed road-space formerly used as a taxi rank.
The pocket park planter boxes reference rain gardens similar to those on Jellicoe Street in Wynyard Quarter, which bring
coastal vegetation to the Quay Street harbour edge and help to enhance the city’s environmental sustainability.
As a nod to Quay Street’s past, the seating in the park is inspired by the red and white striped ‘maritime beacons’ that
lined the kerbs of Quay Street in the early 1970s.
Auckland Council design champion Ludo Campbell-Reid says that Quay Street is a car-dominated thoroughfare lacking a
sense of arrival and departure, an environment for public amenity and an inviting space to relax and spend time.
“Quay Street has such enormous potential to become a stunning people-friendly place that connects the central city, its
residents and visitors to our unique maritime identity and waterfront experiences. The Pocket Park on Quay is a small
insight into the kind of design elements and gathering spots we could see appearing on Quay Street in the future”, he
says.
Other Quay Street early initiatives include the addition of furniture and trees at the intersection of Lower Hobson
Street and Quay Street, the re-illumination of the historic red fence and the popular ‘Ciclovia on Quay’ cycling-themed
street carnival held on Waitangi weekend this year.
The pocket park design was informed by a team of design experts from Auckland Council, Auckland Transport and Waterfront
Auckland.
More information about the Pocket Park on Quay can be found on the Auckland Council website aucklandcouncil.govt.nz – search ‘Pocket Park on Quay’.
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