Kombi van puts finishing touch on town centre upgrade
Tuesday 4 December 2007, 2:32PM
By Thames Coromandel District Council
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A bright yellow kombi van has been parked permanently on the pavement of Whangamata’s main street with no complaints whatsoever from the council.
Whangamata retailers, elected members and council staff will today celebrate the completion of a town centre upgrade that included disguising an ugly transformer on Port Rd with graphics of a kombi van in line with the town’s surfing theme.
The town centre upgrade included stormwater improvements to give increased capacity for the stormwater network in the town centre, new street lighting and footpaths, ducts being laid under footpaths for future cable upgrades, the construction of a new 55-space public carpark between Lincoln and Aitken roads, landscaping and surf-themed park benches and signage.
“What people are seeing are concepts and designs that were originally developed in 1997 through talking with the community,” says Whangamata Area Manager Sam Marshall. “We’ve carried those design themes through from that time and it’s really great to see the whole project come together like it has.”
The Kombi Van idea sprang from a working group made up of residents and retailers along with landscape firm Isthmus. Mr Marshall said the group has negotiated various hurdles over the past three years to keep the project moving forward.
“They’ve been really important for keeping retailers informed which was a big thing.”
The Whangamata Community Board and elected members also kept the project alive and allowed it to happen, he said. “It’s nice to have been able to bring this together; to see all three stages completed with the full upgrade of Port Rd and Hunt Rd.”
The town centre upgrade was a locally-funded project with a portion from development contributions and the Power New Zealand Special Projects’ Fund.
Mayor Philippa Barriball will officiate at the gathering being held at The Embassy in Whangamata today at 4pm to thank Whangamata’s retailers for putting up with the inconvenience of Stage Three works over the last year.