We’re doing things a bit differently with this project because it’s an‘Innovating Streets’ project that’s mostly being funded by Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency.
See the photographs from the community workshops here
The ‘roughly right’ design for improvements to Fantame Street is nearly finished. Our core community codesign group, made up of Cannons Creek locals, has spent about 20 hours of hard work with us generating the design that looks to make the street safer and nicer for all.
The design incorporates safety features to slow traffic down and in doing so makes it safer for people to cross the road, safer for tamariki to scoot and bike, and easier for those with mobility issues to get around. It also features areas that will be pleasant for people to sit and relax, with plants and trees, and has areas of art and colour to liven up the street and show off the neighbourhood’s identity.
We’ve discussed the project’s goals and the fledgling designs at three public community workshops and special sessions with tamariki and whānau of Russell School and Pukerau Kōhanga and incorporated lots of ideas into the design.
Next steps
We’re now in the process of reviewing the design to ensure it meets safety requirements, before it can be shared publicly and then translated into buildable directions for contractors.
We hope to be able to share this ‘roughly right’ design with you in the next few weeks.
Once finalised, we can start ordering the materials and get the codesigned improvements ‘live’ into the street in May.
That’s when everyone should come down to Fantame Street, see and feel how the improvements are working, and say how you’re finding it.
At the same time there’ll be some basic safety improvements going in at the Castor Crescent and Fantame Street intersections with Warspite Ave, to calm traffic a little as it approaches the ‘heart’ of Fantame Street.
During May and June, we’ll be moving the new objects around in the central section of Fantame Street in response to how people are finding the new layout. Once it’s working better, the final design will be confirmed.
We’ve had an intense month of community kōrero in workshops, and hard mahi with our core community codesign group, coming up with a ‘roughly right’ design for improving Fantame Street in the way locals want.
Last week we had an awesome morning with Russell School children and a great afternoon session with whānau and friends of Russell School and Pukerau Kōhanga.
It was really good to get a really rich picture of what local people like about Fantame Street, what they’d like to see improved, and people’s ideas for making the street safer and nicer. Some of the concerns raised by tamariki included speeding cars and how that was dangerous for people (and for pets), and that there was nowhere to sit after school when you’re waiting (or when you get tired!).
They wanted more places to feel safe from traffic, as they like walking and scooting to school. They really liked the idea of more art on the street showing off local culture and Russell School’s HEART values, plus more plants, more places to sit, and more space for play and chalking.
Adults from the school and kōhanga communities were united in their desire for a safer street for tamariki. While there were lots of views about how to get people parking and driving a bit better during busy times, there was an overwhelming preference for trying out a “community stopping zone” outside the front of the school. The school community is starting to think about how to provide a people element (e.g. a kaitiaki keeping things flowing) to complement the physical street change (art) in the zone.
Also, this week we passed an important milestone: our last codesign workshop with the core group. They reviewed their ‘roughly right’ layout for the street in light of the latest information from community workshops and school/kōhanga sessions and confirmed it as a good first step in improving safety and making more space for people. They also gave directions around how they want to “furnish” the street to make it inviting, with things like planters, seating, a bike rack, and picnic tables.
Next steps
We will have a reflection and wrap-up with our core codesign group to honour the dozens of hours they’ve given to this process. Our designers are going to finalise the ‘roughly right’ design based on the feedback we’ve had this week and the steer from our codesign group. Watch this space, and we’ll post up the final ‘roughly right’ design for Fantame Street’s improvements.
Next comes ordering all the materials and then we can finally get the codesigned improvements into the street in May. That’s when everyone should come down to Fantame Street, see and feel how the improvements are working, and say how you’re finding it. We’ll move things around to make it work better, and the final design will be confirmed soon after that.
At the same time there’ll be some basic safety improvements going in at the Castor Crescent and Fantame Street intersections with Warspite Ave, to calm traffic a little as it approaches the “heart” of Fantame Street.
We’ve now held three workshops with our core codesign group (the ‘engine-room’) and have had two community workshops (with tamariki and rangatahi through Wesley Waitangirua, and a public workshop on 15th February).
Across all these workshops are consistent themes: locals want Fantame Street to:
Over the past three weeks the codesign mahi has achieved its first step: identifying a safer overall layout for most of the street. The last piece of street to get a trial layout chosen is the stretch by Russell School gate. This will be done this coming week with the school and kōhanga communities.
The remaining step for the codesign phase is to decide what objects and colour to use to “furnish” the safer street. Trees and planting, road and footpath artwork, places to sit and eat – things to help bring the street to life for people.
We need your help in deciding what activities the street environment should encourage in different places: waiting for their moko, eating, meeting people, waiting for laundry, and so on. And we need your help to know how to make Fantame Street nice to do these things.
Community workshops
We’ve got more workshops coming up – come along and get into the designs:
Warspite and Fantame
RSVP on Creeksiders’ Facebook page, or just come with your friends – to one or both.
As well as more community workshops we have two dedicated sessions with tamariki and whānau of Russell School and Pukerau Kōhanga to get their input. The engine-room codesign group will absorb all this input as we move towards a full ‘roughly right’ design.
By the end of next week, the community codesign will have completed the ‘roughly right’ concept for a safer, nicer Fantame Street, to try out in real life in a couple of months’ time. Stay tuned!
Joint workshops with our core codesign group have started and we’re also starting to roll out community workshops and sessions with Russell School tamariki and whanau – we’ll keep you posted on this web page.
Creeksiders and Wesley Community Action are helping lead the process and encouraging the community to get involved in making Fantame Street better.
The focus so far is on developing ‘roughly right’ physical changes to the street that reflect what this community wants. Over the next couple of weeks’, you may see a survey-taker around the shops in Fantame Street observing how the street is being used now – stop and say hi!
It’s important to get a wide representation of design ideas from the community so come along to a community workshop:
RSVP on Creeksiders’ Facebook page, or just come with your friends – to one or all.
If you can’t come along to a workshop you can find out more:
Image credit: Porirua artist, Nick Meli
Community leaders are helping plan the community engagement process (including information-gathering, the joint design process, and events and activities for the street).
In early 2021 community members are taking part in the joint design of the “roughly right” street layouts: there will be a variety of activities mostly being led by community, and supported by the project team.
Once the designs have been installed in May/June 2021, there will be opportunities to take part in creative activities and events in the street that encourage people into the newly rearranged street space, and a chance to give feedback on how the new layouts feel.
In June/July 2021 people will be coming back to the streets, seeing how the evolving features feel, and giving more feedback so we can tweak things to make them work better.
Community concerns about unsafe driving and speeding in the Castor Crescent/Fantame Street area in eastern Porirua have led to this project.
The community and Council will jointly design and shape the street improvements targeted to the area outside Russell School in Fantame Street and at nearby intersections. These improvements will slow traffic down and make the streets nicer and safer for people to use.
The installations to achieve this improvement in the street will be put in with some temporary and adjustable materials. These will be improved as we see and hear how they’re working for people in real life.
Fantame Street and nearby intersections are those that locals have raised lots of concerns about and we think could be made safer and nicer to get around on foot (or by bike, scooter or wheelchair).
It’s a good place to try this new approach because there’s a bit less traffic than the main road and because it’s surrounded by Russell School, the Fantame Street shops and the new Kāinga Ora housing developments happening now.
While Kāinga Ora’s Porirua Development project is changing buildings and streets and paths, this Innovating Streets project is just about street space – footpath space, street parking and traffic lanes (the “road corridor”).
The scope of this particular project is pretty small. So we want it to deliver street improvements that will actually make a tangible difference for locals, rather than spreading thinly over a big area and not making much impact anywhere.
This Innovating Streets project will not include:
Council has received funding for this project from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency's nationwide “Innovating Streets” programme and pilot fund which is covering 90% of the project costs – $675,000 of the total project value of $750,000 – with the rest of the funding coming from Council and Kāinga Ora.
The Innovating Streets programme and fund is about getting councils and communities to try using a ‘tactical urbanism’ approach to make urban streets more people friendly. There are over 70 Innovating Streets projects happening right now nationwide – see the programme’s website for more information
Tactical urbanism is about changing streets by piloting adaptive street improvements that have been jointly designed with the locals.
To find out more about our Innovating Streets project get in touch with us at PeopleChangingStreets@PoriruaCity.govt.nz
