The Bridges and Art of Henderson

One of the interesting policies that he former Waitakere City Council implemented was to improve the amount of art in the community. Many of the installations revolved around integrating the pieces while also the process of doing infrastructure works.  Walking around Henderson, here are some of the artworks that can be found (sorry these are Patrick quality photos) First up we have the bridge on Sturges Rd over the rail lines (the station is just behind me).…
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CRL NoR hearing update

Earlier today I said that it would be a few months before we hear anything about what the outcome of the City Rail Link Notice of Requirement was. While that is true for the final outcome, the hearings panel have just sent out an update which includes information on what the outstanding issues are.…
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Parklets coming to Auckland?

One of the interesting urban development’s happening in some places overseas – most notably in San Francisco – is the development of the Parklet. They are effect mini open space designed to enhance the local environment and are created in the space of one or more on-street carparks.…
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Hamilton Slow Streets hits some bumps

Hamilton has been a bit of a trail blazer in New Zealand with pushing ahead on reducing speed limits in residential areas in a bit to improve safety. Road safety experts recognise that a 50km/h speed limit is generally too high for residential neighbourhoods, town and city centres where there are many people using the road for different purposes.…
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Auckland ranked 10th most liveable city once again

The Economist’s Intelligence Unit have once again released their global liveability rankings which ranks cities all around the world. The concept of liveability is simple: it assesses which locations around the world provide the best or the worst living conditions. Assessing liveability has a broad range of uses, from benchmarking perceptions of development levels to assigning a hardship allowance as part of expatriate relocation packages.…
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Bin the Parking Mins

Yesterday I looked at some of the changes being made to the residential zones in the Unitary Plan. For those interested, Anne Hartley’s amendments were discussed yesterday but haven’t been voted on yet.  That should happen today after the councillors cover off some urban design issues.…
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Unitary Plan into the final stages

Over the last few months we have tried to hold off discussing the unitary plan too much while the council worked through the feedback. Today the council will start the process of going through the changes to the plan so that it can finalised and ultimately notified so we will be having a look at some of the changes and how they might affect some of the outcomes of the overall plan.…
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