After eight months of work, the south end of Aotea Lagoon in Porirua is open for the public to enjoy.

The project to make this popular place in Porirua safer, more inviting and modern was officially opened on Thursday (19 June) and the upgrade includes:

- New toilets

- A wider and more open entrance

- Updated lighting

- A new lawn and events space, with a Rotary boardwalk and native wetland planting (about 2000 plants have been put in)

- A pathway out to the Aotea Lions train (there used to be just one way in and out), with the train station area repaired and painted

- Increased shade with three large trees planted, and shade over the seated area too

- A more prominent spot for the Guy Ngan sculpture

- An additional disabled car park in the southern car park

The work, carried out by John Fillmore Contracting, has made this part of Aotea Lagoon accessible and safer, Porirua Mayor Anita Baker says.

"There is better visibility, more than one exit, and it’s a lovely, open space that Porirua residents and the many visitors that come, will enjoy," she says.

Julian Emeny, Manager Parks, says working with Rotary - who built the original rose garden 40 years ago - for a positive outcome has made the project special.

"What we have now, for an area of Aotea Lagoon that was starting to show its age, is a place where we can hold different events, like concerts and school performances, and somewhere the public can book," he says.

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