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Maximising green spaces in a medium-density housing area.
Since 2008, Boffa Miskell has assisted Long Bay Communities Ltd in the master planning, landscape design and environmental management of a new urban centre at Long Bay in North Shore City. Over 300 homes have so far been built and the design of the new landscape is based upon comprehensive urban design and catchment management principles.
Within the areas of medium-density housing, where private garden space is reduced, ‘garden streets’ are being created. A first on the North Shore, the garden streets incorporate a simple palette of hardy plant species used to create public garden areas as well as bioretention areas, where sediments and contaminants are filtered from stormwater before it flows into the nearby streams and wetlands that are a feature of the Long Bay development.
Emma Todd, Boffa Miskell landscape architect, says the innovative street design ensures residents can enjoy a close connection with nature in addition to the opportunities offered in the thirteen recreational community parks that are part of the master plan.
“Garden streets are a form of shared street, where the movement of pedestrians and cyclists is prioritised over cars and the streetscape is both safe and pleasant for walkers and cyclists,” Emma says. “Moreover, the design will encourage people to connect into the nearby networks of wetlands and other pedestrian routes.”
Emma will soon be preparing a concept plan, for Auckland Council, of the 23-hectare Long Bay Heritage Protection Area it owns adjacent to the beach and Long Bay Regional Park. The land is to be protected from certain levels of activity as a consent condition of the Long Bay development but provides the opportunity to reveal the history of the site (both Māori and European), increase its revegetation and provide public amenity for Long Bay residents and people visiting the regional park.
Meanwhile, the Long Bay development has reached subdivision stage 11 of the planned 17 stages which are likely to be completed by 2020. The next stages will include a community hub of new retail areas, restaurants and cafes, a new community park and extensive revegetation planting.
