Takapuna. A rare beachside metropolitan centre. A shopping destination where you can stroll from stores to shore, from boutique retail to beach. A business environment where workers can swim between meetings or at lunch time. With a bustling main street and a mall, Takapuna has shops, services and restaurants to cater to every need. In short, Takapuna is the perfect mix of metropolitan buzz and relaxed seaside living.
Or is it? Hurstmere Road is showing its age: cars trundle over uneven cobblestones last renewed some decades ago; street furniture is sparse – and services that run under the street are in dire need of replacement. As Andy Thompson of Takapuna House of Travel says, Hurstmere Road has been needing a new fresh identity for a long time.
Wouldn’t it be lovely if the main street provided more space for shoppers and pedestrians, more places to sit and enjoy the views of the beach, more places to meet friends and more space for community events?
That’s about to happen. Aware of the need for more and better underground services (particularly stormwater) and a more attractive above-ground environment, Auckland Council is embarking on a major redevelopment of Hurstmere Road, from Hall’s Corner at the intersection of Lake Road through to the roundabout at the intersection with Anzac Street, starting early this month. Working in conjunction with Auckland Transport and Panuku (responsible for the “Unlock Takapuna’ project that will deliver a new town centre, more shops, offices and apartments, and better connections between the town centre and the beach), Auckland Council will revamp not only the services beneath Hurstmere Road but the way traffic circulates around and through Takapuna, and transform the road from a narrow throughway for cars to a vibrant space that cars share with pedestrians and cyclists.
Andy is just one Takapuna retailer excited about the prospect. “The plan is excellent,” he enthuses. “It will offer an unparalleled shopping experience on the Shore. The larger walkway for customers is great for families, with more space, and much safer. I also love that it’s got an eco-friendly design, especially with regard to the ocean and our beaches. It’s giving it a new fresh look – and not many places on the Shore will match it.”
In just over a year’s time, Hurstmere Road will be an open, lively beachside retail destination focused on people. With the plan for Takapuna already having achieved a Green Star Communities rating for “exceptional master planning and commitment to sustainability, planning for climate change and building community resilience” (a first in New Zealand, alongside Henderson), the new-look main street will boast a “healthy ecology” (i.e. trees, rain gardens, water retention zones), and a reduction in vehicle dominance. In Council-speak, it promises a “creative cultural” celebration of Takapuna’s unique character and natural attributes.
As Andy mentioned, it’s been a long time coming, but Auckland Council recently signed a contract with JFC Ltd, self-described as “one of New Zealand’s leading infrastructure and civil construction companies with over 50 years in the business, …behind the construction and restoration of some of New Zealand’s most-loved spaces”. It’s a company experienced in “building vibrant city spaces, creating stronger transport connections and enhancing our infrastructure”.
Andy also likes the staging of the project, designed to minimise disruption for retailers and shoppers. “They’ve thought about the process, about keeping traffic moving and low barriers so it won’t look like a building site. It will still have a nice feel even while it’s in a state of flux.”
Work will be completed in sections, not in one huge blitz that sees the whole road in turmoil for the duration. All work in one section will be completed before that is opened and construction of the next section commences. Stage 1 includes the underground installation of an upgraded freshwater pipeline, and the intersections at either end. The first evidence most of us will see of the project is likely to be traffic management at each end of the shopping strip. Stage 2 involves paving outside Hurstmere Green, one side of the road at a time, followed by half the roadway and footpath on one side of the street from Trust Bank to opposite Hurstmere Green, then Kiwibank to Anzac Street, before completing from Hall’s Corner to Mövenpick on the eastern side, and finally Starbucks to the Anzac Street corner. To provide room for construction as it takes place, Hurstmere Road almost immediately becomes a single lane north-bound, and will remain that way after completion.
Parents and caregivers with pre-schoolers fascinated by construction projects, diggers and bulldozers will be delighted to know, as Andy is, that the fencing separating us from the construction will be low. Better still, according to the official memo, and unlike in the central city, the amount of “orange” will be reduced as much as possible. It’s entirely possible that Hurstmere Road will look less like a war zone than a main street undergoing improvement.
At the end of the project, an improved stormwater treatment system will treat all water flowing from Hurstmere Road to Takapuna Beach, drastically reducing if not eliminating the all-too-frequent pollution of the beach. Traffic along Hurstmere Road will travel one way (north-bound) only, on a smooth level surface – a far cry from the present rumbly cobblestones. South-bound traffic (i.e. heading towards Milford) will use Anzac Street, though cyclists will be able to take advantage of a contra-flow cycle lane through the centre of town. New loading zones and mobility parking bays, and parallel street parking will still allow shoppers to stop – and by the completion of this project, with the completion in July of the gasometer carpark now under construction in Northcroft Street, Takapuna will boast a total of more than 4000 parking spaces in the area immediately around the town centre, including 840 at Shore City.
Yes, there will be some disruption, but The Takapuna Beach Business Association has been working hard behind the scenes to minimise the impact on retailers in particular, as well as shoppers and other businesses in and around Hurstmere Road. This has resulted in, among other things, the staged construction affecting only one side of the road at a time, and the completion of each section before a new section starts reduces the time any part of the road is impacted. Even better, we’ll be able to see what the finished street will look like as the construction progresses.
Terence Harpur, CEO at the Takapuna Beach Business Association, says the TBBA has been behind the project from the start, recognising the need to revamp Hurstmere Road to meet the expectations of the community about the kind of main street Takapuna deserves. At the same time, the TBBA was aware that progress of this sort doesn’t come without some sacrifice.
“The TBBA put forward to the project team a number of construction disruption mitigation techniques,” says Terence. “These were developed through discussions with our members, discussions with other areas of Auckland which have undergone similar transformations, such as Newmarket, Auckland CBD and K Road, as well as international best practice. We are pleased that most of our requests were included in the tender process and now into the construction methodology.”
The mitigation principles, such as the staged construction, and a requirement for signage and wayfinding for businesses, aim to ensure that retailers and shoppers alike continue to enjoy shopping in Takapuna during construction. Other measures include minimising noise disruption, access through the construction zone, the site appearance, and the appearance and use of hoardings and barriers conforming to careful parameters, among others.
“We are thrilled that with the transformation, all stormwater flowing to our beloved Takapuna Beach will be treated,” adds Terence. “Hurstmere Road is going to be a real drawcard for our local community and visitors. With the strong retail focus of the project, Hurstmere road will be real destination for shoppers to love!”
Despite all best efforts, as both Andy and Terence acknowledge, businesses along the strip will face some disruption. Terence and the TBBA are encouraging the local community to continue to shop in Takapuna, and support Hurstmere Road retailers, many of whom are themselves long-time Takapuna residents, and who have had a presence on Hurstmere Road for years, if not decades.
“Retail and food and beverage need to be supported,” says Andy. He urges locals to support businesses in our area, “so that we have somewhere to shop in the future”.
“Getting through construction disruption is never easy for businesses,” Terence says. “We therefore ask our community to shop local and continue to support businesses through this time. Shopping local keeps your money in the community and makes it the vibrant destination that we all love.
“Pedestrian access will remain open to businesses at all times, as will vehicle access – with crossings and wayfinding along the street. It will be super-easy to get around, and there is going to be plenty of parking.”
To further encourage local loyalty over the next 15 months, the TBBA will run competitions, give-aways and events during construction. Terence suggests following I Love Takapuna on Facebook to keep up to date with these as they happen.
Hurstmere Road is the key, the start of the vision for a new Takapuna. This first stage will deliver a compelling and attractive destination with a great mix of shops and restaurants ahead of the next major step in Takapuna’s rejuvenation – the Unlock Takapuna project. But more on that as plans develop…
