Banking on the river on Home Services

Jan

Banking on the river

posted by admin in Window Cleaning

“Why do we turn our back on the river?” “Why don’t we make more of the river?” You hear it all the time in Hamilton. For decades the city has grappled with the realisation that the river somehow passes it by on its journey to the west coast.

Tourism organisations and visiting consultants reinforce the concerns, urging the city to make use of the magnificent river which runs through its heart. Periodically, a plan is formulated and someone comes forward with a proposal such as a pedestrian bridge or cafe esplanade. But no sooner have the artist’s impressions been drawn up and debates held around council chambers than the plan is shelved and seldom heard of again. Not that there hasn’t been action. Over the past decade, Hamilton City Council has created superb walkways the length of the city’s western riverbank. Each day hundreds of Hamiltonians walk, run or bike along them. But the fact remains you can walk down the main street without glimpsing the river. Most of our eating, drinking and shopping is done elsewhere.

With a new city council installed, is it time for the community to finally get to grips with how it wants to use its river?

Yellow willow leaves swirl in the olive green water, as the MV Waipa Delta forges up the Waikato River carrying a handful of diners on the Wednesday lunch cruise. Along the leafy banks, office workers stroll on the walkways or sit among the trees, eating lunch. A woman reads a book in the sunshine. A jogger runs past the rowing club.

It’s an idyllic scene, but it is hardly crowded. And a tourist can visit the central city, pass through, and barely see our best natural asset. “Buses drive through the city, at the height of the season some 80 or 90 buses, and drive down Grantham St, and then out on to SH1 without stopping,” says Mark Goudie, who owns the Waipa Delta.

“The biggest number of (tour) buses stop, you’ll find, in Huntly at the tearooms, which is on the river,” says Goudie. “It’s their first stop out of Auckland, and Hamilton could probably have that market if they had such an area by the river.”

Goudie believes the time is right to do more with the river. “With the increase in visitors and our profile, and with the V8s, there are a number of things putting Hamilton on the map.” On Wednesday, a young Auckland couple, Tracey Gibbs and Geoff McCarthy, have made the day trip, a birthday treat for Gibbs. They’ve been to DressSmart and next is Hamilton Gardens. They are impressed with the river walkways, but wish there were more cafes along the banks. “There are no refreshment stops,” says Gibbs. “It would be great to walk along one side and get an ice cream, and then walk along the other side and stop for a beer.” They would like to see more picnic tables, and somewhere central to rent kayaks.

Goudie says the river is used rowers in the morning and after school, kayakers on the weekends but more could be done. “The Waikato River is a major river, the longest river in New Zealand. We are the fourth-largest city in New Zealand, but where is the public wharf, where is the infrastructure?” He wants to develop a water taxi service between Memorial Park and the Hamilton Gardens, and possibly a caf aac?t the site of the old Waipa Delta jetty. “We are in consultation with Tainui, Environment Waikato and the council about what we can do to add to the river experience,” says Goudie. He’s thrown a lot of money at improving the existing boat, including more than $250,000 on refurbishment. He believes any development should be controlled “I wouldn’t like to see cafes lining the river” but think there could be potential for kayak or canoe operators.

He sees a bright future for the river, especially if council can get visionary and motivated.

He’s pinpointed the grassy area opposite the Waipa Delta, beside the Ferrybank Lounge, as the obvious spot for a carpark for tourbuses and rental cars, a visitor centre, and tearooms.

The city’s most recent reminder about its disregard of Waikato River came earlier this year. Dutch urban design expert Marco Hommel was the latest consultant to tut-tut about the city’s lack of purpose with such an asset. In January, Hommel, a specialist in urban renewal and management of public space, described the river as an unused jewel. He said the V8 street car race, which Hamilton will host for seven years from next year, would get worldwide television coverage yet none of this was likely to include the river. Instead it would show fast cars, tarmac and industrial buildings.

“You’ve got to use the river,” he said. Short on specifics but a clear enough message.

Draughtsman Kris Wilson is the latest in a long line to tease public imagination with the river’s possibilities.

In June last year, Wilson unveiled The Span, a 140m long, 21m wide pedestrian bridge from Marlborough Tce to Parana Park with walkways and cycleways, an open-air performing area in the centre and space for cafes, restaurants and bars. His proposal was one of three pedestrian bridges suggested to the council since 1993.

Former restaurateur Brian Anderson proposed a footbridge, similar to Florence’s Ponte Vecchio, on the same site 14 years earlier. In 1998 also from Parana Park to Marlborough Tce former mayor Margaret Evans and her Millennium Foundation proposed the Millennium Esplanade, a suspension- style footbridge and esplanade with cafes and restaurants.

Wilson was moved to action when he wanted to show a friend from the US around the city and realised there was nowhere to sit and just take in Hamilton.

He got professional opinions and support from a host of technical advisers on the possibility of building a pedestrian bridge. Wilson says a key technical issue has always been the difficulty of accessing a pedestrian bridge from Victoria St because it is high above the river. His solution is to raise the height of the bridge to 16m above water level so it is only a matter of steps off Victoria St. “The best tourist attractions around the world tend to be the ones you stumble upon rather than having to go looking for.” Wilson has since revamped his design to make it more contemporary but stresses that, at this stage, the design is not the issue, it is the concept. He’s also proposed a shift in location to between Alma St and Jesmond Park, near Opoia Rd. He’s disappointed no action has followed from his proposal. “I would spend another 400 hours on it if I thought it might take off.” He would also welcome the project being handed to bigger players. He hopes impetus might come from the strength of public conviction. Registered architect Andrew Bydder has been involved in the plan and says it would give Hamilton a great image and an icon, a symbol of a vibrant city.

“It shows the country this is a city where young people can make a hell of a difference.” While councillors made all the right noises at Wilson’s presentation, nothing has happened to the $16 million project. Yet another pedestrian bridge proposal may come to nothing.

Hamilton has made a name for itself in recent years for its walkways, both around Lake Rotoroa and along the western side of the Waikato River. It raises the question; does Hamilton really need to do more with its river?

Gordon Chesterman, city councillor, businessman and long-time river resident doesn’t think putting infrastructure on the river is needed. “I always hear people say `we should make more use of the river’ but I’m not sure they really understand what they are saying.” From his office window each day, he sees people exercising themselves and their dogs. He talks of the other river users such as rowers and kayakers, the fun raft races and speed boat races.

“In a way the river and its environs are already being well used.” Chesterman agrees the city was built with its back to the river but that’s a legacy of early developers who “buggered up the city”. It will take time to turn around.

He points out the window of his office at a number of houses, office buildings and apartments that have been built to face the river. The Novotel and Ibis Hotels and Sky City Casino all face the river. The most recent example is Perry Developments’ five-storey office and retail building on Victoria St which will tower over the riverbank.

“I would like to encourage walkers and bikers in the city. To me the development of the river should be about that not the cafe set. I think the real focus for the river is about that activity on the walkways and families enjoying themselves.” He is doubtful about the business potential of cafes and restaurants either on an esplanade or on a bridge, partly because of Hamilton’s climate. He says businesses couldn’t survive on summer patronage alone.

Wilson says his bridge design incorporates cafes and restaurants enclosed within glass structures. When it is sunny, people can sit outside. Joe Wright, the developer keen to push the Millennium Esplanade, was also a believer in the economics of the deal. Wright was previously involved with development of establishments like The Bank, Cullens Cafe and Wine Bar and Iguana. He wasn’t used to losing money on his projects. “If you can’t make money by the water, you won’t make it anywhere,” he said when the esplanade was unveiled. But Chesterman says private fundraising is hard going these days and the council just hasn’t got the money to spend on a project like this. Chesterman and Mayor Bob Simcock both point out there are significant plans being discussed at City Hall which should improve the city’s link with the river. The big move in thinking has been away from making a link between Parana Park and Marlborough Tce areas. Simcock says if there is one thing about the river the council has made a decision on, it is to improve the link between Victoria St and Claudelands Park where it intends building an events centre. The plan is to develop Sonning carpark and O’Neill St into a link between the park and the city. A pedestrian walkway could be added to Claudelands Bridge or a new pedestrian bridge built. It would allow people to watch an event then walk into the city.

The prospect of putting cafes and restaurants on the bridge doesn’t seem to be favoured by the council.

“From my current understanding I would have thought it would be unlikely,” says Simcock. “But if someone came along with a proposal and with the means to fund it? There’s been no decision that we don’t want it. There’s been a decision that it does look bloody expensive.” Simcock says there is also a desire within the council to preserve the river’s natural environs. Wilson says the key thing for the council to remember is the difference between making any bridge a destination or just a thoroughfare. When he made his presentation, he felt councillors didn’t understand the point of having cafes and restaurants on a bridge.

He says there were suggestions that the river was a place to go for respite and solitude and he totally agrees. “We are only looking to chew up 50m on either side of the bridge. You still have endless respite along the riverbanks.” Wilson wants the council to take leadership. He urges people to savour the image of dining by a peaceful river rather than next to “smelly noisy cars”.

“Can’t we just be a little more bold? We have to be careful of having a city with heaps of events. A city where there’s plenty of places to do things but no place to do nothing.”

WITH so much of the city built to face away from the river, one local business with close-up views is Ferrybank Reception and Conference Centre, under Bridge St Bridge. David and Lisa Kerr have been running it for 18 months, as well as Canvas Restaurant %26 Bar at Waikato Museum for 13 years, where Kerr is head chef. When they are at Ferrybank, the water flows outside, offering a peaceful view. “We have this big river, and people pay millions for homes that look at it, but no businesses are using it,” marvels David Kerr. “The Ferrybank has beautiful views, it’s a lovely spot. We would love to expand, and have a north-facing deck.” However, the venue and the rowing club below, which also needs more space for boats and development, is limited by strict regulations designed to protect the environment. It is on Conservation Department land, and some city councillors may also be reluctant for development there. “It’s in the too-hard basket, that’s why it’s never been tackled,” says Kerr.

He also believes businesses in Hood St and Victoria St would oppose any developments, such as restaurants, cafes and nightlife spots, along Grantham St or by the river. “It would take away business from town.”

Last weekend, Kerr went cycling along the riverbank with sons Tyler, nine, and Jackson, six. He can’t get enough of the views. “At work, you walk in the door and look at the river, undulating by. I don’t know what the human fascination is with looking at water.” At lunchtime on Wednesday, the river walkways are a quiet green leafy otherworld. From Alma St, large stone steps descend on to a sun-dappled paved path, and towering buildings retreat along with the noise of cars and people.

Three women come striding along, office workers from Southern Cross Health Insurance. “We usually walk down here at 11.30am as part of our OOS (occupational overuse syndrome) break and a chance to get away from our desks,” says Christine Kuck. Together with co-workers Donna Woodhall and Amanda Good, they often do a 10-minute loop from Alma St to Bryce St and back. They think the walkways are great, but would like to see more seats and picnic tables.

Further along, three men from Avalon Industrial Services are sitting on the grass, eating lunch, and watching the river go by. They are industrial abseilers, and have been working on the BNZ building, cleaning the building and windows.

Frenchman Sigfrid Dupre, who has moved to Hamilton for work, likes the view, and the river. “At first I thought it was crap, but now I like it. I do lots of mountain biking and running along the river.” He also thinks safety is a concern, and there should be better lighting especially under the Cobham Dr bridge. “My friend won’t run underneath it, he goes over the top because of the lighting.” He says the Seine in Paris, in a city of 10 million people, is well used and central to the city, but does not have the natural charm of the Waikato. “During the summer, they bring in sand and put it down to pretend it’s a beach,” he laughs.

Co-worker and fellow European, Toma Iurcu, who hails from Romania, says too much development “is not the New Zealand thing to do. I think the way it is, is good. Too much change and it will be like European (rivers) and I don’t think that’s what Kiwis want.Beaches in Europe have restaurants and cafes all along them, concrete promenades, but beaches in New Zealand are just natural. In my opinion, keep it as it is.If this was Europe, there would be lots of people, not peace and quiet, and you don’t want that.”

TELL US:We want to here from our readers. Is the council doing enough? Is a bridge all we need to put the city on the map? Tell us what you think should be done with the river. Write to River Plan, features department, Private Bag 3086, Hamilton, or click here to e-mail us.