High Street Improvements Project
What's happening now
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Planned
Designing High Street's future with the community -
In Progress
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Completed
Project Map
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About the project
High Street, one of the busiest laneways in our city centre, is brimming with potential. With neighbouring O’Connell Street, Jean Batten Place, Freyberg Place and Ellen Melville Centre enjoying relatively recent upgrades, and with Victoria Street undergoing significant transformation, it’s now time for Aucklanders to help determine how they want to use High Street in the future and for the next generation.
In 2020 we made some temporary improvements to High Street through a pilot project. Key changes included using boardwalks to widen the footpath, increasing greenery along the street, trialling waste management solutions and improving loading and servicing functionality.
The High Street improvements project will result in an updated plan for High Street’s future.
Click here to sign-up for updates.
Have your say on High Street's future
Over the next year, we want to hear from the High Street community about your ambitions, hopes, and priorities for the street through various engagement opportunities.
Hearing from residents, businesses, shoppers, visitors, and people travelling through will help shape High Street’s look for the next 30 years, ensuring it remains a vibrant place for businesses, shopping, relaxation, and daily commutes.
We don’t have a particular design in mind. We’re eager to explore a variety of development options and design ideas, that could range from operational changes, minor improvements to street upgrades.
Initial engagement
Between August and October, we reached out to hundreds of people who care about High Street's future. A big thank you to everyone who shared their ideas to help shape High Street’s future and ensure it remains a vibrant, people-focused space for years to come.
Here's a quick summary of what we've achieved so far together.
Feedback we received
- 392 online surveys completed
- 105 one-on-one interviews conducted
- 241 intercept surveys with people on High Street
- 63 love notes to High Street shared, both online and in person
- 30 postcards received with personal reflections
- 547 ideas shared at pop-ups about what you like and changes you'd like to see
- 370 poll responses received, highlighting your preferences for High Street
How we engaged
- 162 visits to local businesses
- 16 activations, including pop-ups and displays on High Street and Freyberg Place that captured the feedback of residents, workers and visitors to the area
- 3 walking tours during the school holidays, that captured families' experience
- 4 interactive "walk-shops" on heritage and the pedestrian experience
- 1169 letters sent to encourage residents and property owners in the neighbourhood to participate
- A special display about High Street's history, housed at Ellen Melville Centre
We are currently analysing the feedback and will provide an update on the key priorities shortly.
What's next
In the next phase, we’ll use your feedback to shape and develop design options for the street. Here are the next steps:
Review feedback
We’re analysing all community feedback to prioritise what matters most.
Develop design options
Your input will help the design team create draft options that aim to deliver the outcomes that matter to the community. This could range from small operational changes to streetscape upgrades.
Share designs for feedback
We’ll share the draft designs in the first half of 2025.
Decision-making
After gathering feedback, a preferred design will go to an Auckland Council committee for a decision. We’ll also continue working closely with mana whenua, the Waitematā Local Board, and other stakeholders.
You can stay updated about engagement opportunities by signing up here.
Why are we doing this?
Guided by our City Centre Masterplan (CCMP), Auckland Council is investing in transformational projects to ensure that we have a thriving city centre well into the future. Determining how High Street will look and feel in the future is one of these important transformational projects.
What's involved
We’ll also work with our mana whenua partners and seek feedback from the Waitematā Local Board, technical specialists and other stakeholders before making a recommendation to an Auckland Council committee. It will be the committee’s role to make the final decision on the preferred way forward for High Street.
Delivered by
This project is being delivered by Auckland Council and is funded by the city centre targeted rate which is paid by city centre commercial and residential property owners and is used to help fund the development and revitalisation of the city centre. The programme of works funded by the rate aims to enhance the city centre as a place to work, live, visit and do business.