The transformation of a narrow footpath in Wellington was awarded a Golden Foot Walking Award in 2022 in the Urban Connection category.
The Cobham Drive sidewalk was a narrow, shared footpath adjacent to a busy highway.
It was transformed by Wellington City Council into a fully accessible, beautifully landscaped, separated footpath and cycleway.
There is seating to enjoy the scenery and access to a restored environment for penguins, seabirds and lizards as well as two distinct beaches. There are also many wind sculptures to look at along this coastal route.
The project successfully meets the New Zealand Pedestrian Planning and Design Guidelines.
- What motivated this initiative? Cobham Drive was chosen because it is part of a walking and biking route between the eastern suburbs and the central city. The Council wanted to develop separate walking and biking paths rather than the existing shared path. The walking path includes places to stop, sit and enjoy the view including the Wellington Sculpture walk.
- What barriers were overcome and who was involved in the initiative? Cobham Drive is located in a very exposed coastal location and the weather was a major factor for the contractors who worked in all weathers, including high winds. They needed to work around nesting blue penguins and a population of native lizards that were moved before work even started. This was a large project that took more than two years to complete, including through the COVID-19 restrictions.
- Coverage in terms of number of people affected, geography, and demography for this initiative. No-one lives along Cobham Drive so residents weren’t affected. The geography was challenging because it is on reclaimed land, and the project included extensive coastal protection work to protect the paths for the future. The walkway and cycleway have a large catchment of potential users in the Eastern suburbs.
- Success to date of the initiative to encourage walking and meet its objectives, include some detail on funding for the project: The route has more than 11,000 people biking along it on weekdays. It’s very clear a lot more people are walking as part of their commute and recreation. Additionally, the Council added new design-inspired public toilets, a drinking fountain and mobility parking to the western end.