Multimodal exploring around Te Whanganui-a-Tara
A look at what I checked out during my multimodal adventure around Te Whanganui-a-Tara.
Kia ora and Happy New Year! I hope you had a good summer break. During my break, I spent a few days at Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington. This was the first time I visited Te Whanganui-a-Tara in over a decade, so there was a lot for this urban nerd to check out in our windy capital city. So, top up your Snapper card, put on some good walking shoes and let the adventure begin.
A walk around the city centre:
We’ll start on foot by going for a walk around the city centre, which is fitting as Te Whanganui-a-Tara is the most walkable city in Aotearoa New Zealand with 80% of residents being within a 20-minute walk of major amenities, thanks to its compact urban form. The city centre and the neighbouring suburbs of Te Aro and Thorndon are easy to get around by foot via the waterfront, The Golden Mile, a network of laneways and Cuba Mall.
Following a look around The Art of Banksy Exhibition currently on display at Tākina (till the 20th January) and Te Papa. I had lunch in the summer sun on Dixon St in one of the parklets that have been reallocated from parking spaces to be used for outside dining. Many parklets have popped up around the city centre, creating more space for local eateries through the use of tactical urbanism.
There are other examples of reallocation of kerbside space around the city centre, with former parking spaces that have been reallocated for a community garden, bike parking and drop-off areas for micro-mobility devices.
I also had a walk around the townhouses and apartment developments that have been recently completed in Te Aro including the Aro Living apartments (109 homes), the vibrant green Te Ki a Alasdair (75 homes) and The Paddington (151 homes). The latter has been used as an example of underdevelopment in the city centre due to its low density. Hopefully, examples like The Paddington will be avoided in the future thanks to upzoning to enable higher density developments in the city centre and inner city suburbs in Wellington City Council’s latest District Plan, which was approved by councillors and Housing Minister Chris Bishop last year.
Since the new District Plan went into effect, there has been an increase in consent applications being lodged for multi-unit developments in the city. This shows what can be unlocked through upzoning to help us increase housing supply and to achieve a more compact and sustainable city.
Connecting with nature via cable car and bus:
The next day, I travelled to the Botanic Gardens via cable car with gorgeous views of the city from its terminal at Kelburn and throughout my walk in the gardens. It was a nice walk through the gardens looking at collections of native and exotic plants, trees and flowers.
Following my walk through the gardens, I took the 2 bus to Zealandia. Where I enjoyed walking through some beautiful landscapes and spotting some of our favourite native birds and reptiles.
A bike ride around the bays:
I spent my Sunday going on a bike ride on the city’s cycleway network, starting at the waterfront before going along Evans Bay Parade and Cobham Dr to Miramar. I then went under the airport runway via the Rongotai subway to Lyall Bay, along the Leonie Gill pathway and cycleways on Onepu Rd to Kilbrinie before heading to Newtown for a lunch stop. Following that I headed back to the waterfront via the Newtown to City route, which runs along Adelaide Rd, through Basin Reserve and Cambridge Terrace. I then biked along the cycleways that been installed around Parliament and Thorndon.
The cycleway network in Te Whanganui- a -Tara is a good example of how a connected cycleway network can be delivered in a short amount of time, as discussed in this article by Joel MacManus from the Spinoff, which documents how the cycleway network has grown in the city over the last 5 years. Data has shown that the cycling numbers have increased, especially on the Newtown to City route, where results taken in its first year of completion saw the monthly average of bike trips increase by 62% and cycling numbers along the route had increased by 120% since 2022, as more cycling connections are delivered.
A train ride to Kāpiti:
On my last full day in the city, it was time to do some exploring by train. My train ride started on the Johnsonville Line to catch some views of the city and the harbour before transferring onto the 60 at Johnsonville to Porirua, where I had a look at the artwork at Porirua Station before catching the Kāpiti Line train to Paraparaumu.
When I arrived at Paraparaumu Station, I checked out the upgrades to the transport hub at the foot of the station, that were completed last year. These upgrades included a new bus interchange with living roofs on the shelters to increase tree canopy and reduce stormwater runoff, artwork from local artist Miriama Grace-Smith (Ngāti Hau, Ngāti Toarangatira, Ngāti Porou), secure bike parking and e-bike charging stations with Locky Docks from Big Street Bikers, and footpath improvements around the station.
The transport hub is a good example of designing our stations to enable more multimodal trips especially for the first and last leg of people’s journeys by providing secure bike parking and safe, comfortable facilities while waiting for feeder bus connections to the suburbs of Paraparaumu Beach and Raumati Beach like the 260, which I caught to go and catch some gorgeous views of Kāpiti Island from Paraparaumu Beach.
To and from the airport:
My adventure in Te Whanganui-a-Tara concluded the same way that it started with a bus trip on the Airport Express, an express service between Wellington Airport to Wellington Station via the Haitaitai Tunnel (running every 10 - 20 minutes, 7 days) on fully electric buses with free WiFi, luggage racks and USB chargers on board.
Most buses in Te Whanganui-a-Tara have audio and on-screen announcements to assist blind, low-vision and deaf passengers and to give information on the public transport network and local landmarks. The airport also has secure bike parking available with Locky Docks, Sheffield bike racks, e-scooters and e-bikes to rent from micro-mobility providers.
Conclusion:
I enjoyed my time exploring Te Whanganui-a-Tara and it’s great to see what’s been going on in urbanism in the city. I look forward to watching the progress from Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland as the cycleway network grows, much-needed housing is delivered following the upzoning in the District Plan going into effect and city-shaping projects starting construction such as the Golden Mile improvements and Te Ngākau Civic Square to help create a more compact, vibrant and sustainable city.
Photos of street art I spotted during my time in Te Whanganui-a-Tara:
Hi Shaun! Just wanted to let you know that I've included this post in a list of resources I've compiled for having low-carbon adventures, which you might enjoy because I loved what you got up to: https://mostlygoodideas.nz/adventureresources
It's part of a zine series, which you can read here: https://mostlygoodideas.nz/zine (if you're interested in a physical copy, let me know and I can probably arrange!)
Amazing how much activity can fit in a parklet, more than one or two parked cars. Like how they leave to footpath clear too.