Experts say redesign Hamilton CBD

Carparking is not the real reason people are fleeing Hamilton's city centre, it needs to be made more inviting, international experts told business and property owners this week.

Project for Public Spaces (PPS) consultants Ethan Kent and Renee Espiau, who cost Hamilton City Council $30,000 to bring to the city from New York, said a redesign of the square was needed in the long-term.

The company has developed public spaces in more than 40 cities including the popular Bryant Park in New York.

Mr Kent told various stakeholders at the Mayoral Conversation on Thursday night, that activities were a good short-term solution and in the long-term better infrastructure would support Garden Place.

"Events are important to jump start activities, but they won't make a square work on a daily basis," he said.

Mr Kent said Garden Place needed a nicer entrance way and to be opened up once uses for the square had been identified.

The concrete bollards bordering Garden Place should be demolished and could be replaced by statues such as a flock of ducks. The large uninviting walls needed to be broken down as part of the council's plans to reinvigorate the city's heart, Mr Kent said.

Despite the city's retailers and pedestrians blaming parking for keeping people out of the city, Mr Kent said the square needed to be made more attractive through events and a more user friendly design.

"Downtown is never going to compete with more suburban places for parking," he said.

"The places most beloved in the world are hard to park in.

"When parking is a problem it's an indication the community doesn't have a better vision for the space."

The council has launched an experimental programme and is trialling a range of entertainment initiatives including stilt-walking lessons to bring some spark to the area.

PPS said there was potential for Garden Place to have a variety of attractions ranging from an artificial beach, playable structures, interactive water features, moveable rocking chairs, Christmas markets to outdoor movie nights.

PPS spent some of this week asking business owners and residents for their ideas.

Mr Kent said the council needed to create a role for at least one full-time person who would be responsible for overseeing and developing the area.

Mayor Bob Simcock supported the need for someone to be focused on Garden Place and said at the moment it was being overseen by five or six different departments of the council.