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

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