Pop-up Hub generates Riverlink discussion

The Riverlink project, which integrates flood management, city revitalisation and transport link improvements, has involved extensive community engagement to ensure the river transformation meets the needs of the people of Lower Hutt. Boffa Miskell is assisting with the consultation, urban planning and landscape design aspects of the project.

To keep the community informed about the project, a pop-up hub was positioned on the riverside in February, where residents were able to view the preliminary plans and provide feedback for the next design phase. The removal of willows to make way for the hub improved the visual and physical access to the river from the city centre, thereby helping the community visualise one of the core objectives of the Riverlink project – to connect the city to the river.

Community design workshops to gather information from residents about what they would like to see from the project helped guide the design team during the preliminary concept design phase. The displays within the hub showed work-in-progress that reflected the community’s preferences, gathered via the workshops.

Along with Greater Wellington Regional Council’s need for improved flood protection, and the New Zealand Transport Agency’s desire for better transport options, Riverlink will deliver improved lifestyle options for residents through the revitalisation of the area under the Hutt City Council’s ‘Making Places’ strategy.

“The Riverlink project has many stakeholders and a wide community of interest in its many features. It is important for us to regularly ‘check in’ with everybody to show how we have responded to feedback and how we continue to iterate the design. It is also important that we maintain the public presence in this large-scale project. It is the biggest public project in the Hutt Valley in a generation and the community needs to continue giving its voice of support to ensure that it is heard loud and clear by the project governance groups of councils and committees that are responsible for funding,” explains Marc Baily, Boffa Miskell urban planner.