Wellington’s Bond St will be transformed with a series of installations designed to drive foot traffic and encourage local shopping over the coming months.
The short term project, which runs until April, will make temporary changes to the layout and use of the street before looking at possible long term changes, according to Wellington City Council.
Bond St will host a program of events from a mini shipping container and two outdoor seating areas outside existing café’s and eateries. Also installed as part of the project is an artificial lawn area, while the Bond St road surface has been painted with a red pattern.
Events will include musical performances, cycle maintenance sessions with Mechanical Tempest, library story times, hairdressing and barbering displays ,and a local history exhibition.
The total budget for the project is $100,000, with 70 per cent to be spent on items that can be re-used in other projects or events.
“We are working closely with Bond St businesses on this short- erm project with an aim of attracting more people to the street, raising the profile of the businesses located there, improving the perception of the street and then measuring the impact of these changes,” the Council says.
“Bond St is an important street for servicing local businesses, we want to make it a destination for pedestrians as well.”
As part of the project, businesses and retailers on Bond St applied for and secured grant funding that has been used to create a shared business and retail website, Bondstcollective.co.nz. Created collaboratively by Bond St’s local businesses, the website serves an online presence for each business, as well as showcasing the street’s highlight, services, and events.
