PONSONBY PARK

I think we can all agree that 2020 has been a year like no other. The advent of Covid-19 has upended the very concept of normality for many, if not most of us.

Progress on so many things has been affected including the realisation of Ponsonby Park – the new civic space at 254 Ponsonby Road. So as 2020 draws to a close we thought it a good time to once again take stock of some of the things that have been achieved this year to advance the park.

The ‘Project Control Steering Group’ completed the business case for Ponsonby Park, after another Community-Led Design consultation that sought feedback on design options. This resulted in a new build being chosen through a submission process that then informed the business case.

In February, the business case was presented to the Waitemata Local Board and the board voted unanimously to approve and endorse the business case for Ponsonby Park.

The next step was to present the business case to Council’s Finance and Performance Committee meeting, scheduled for Thursday 19th March, to obtain approval for the remaining funding. However, the published agenda was set aside in order to address the implications of the Covid-19 outbreak and to enable emergency planning instead.

Since then, the Ponsonby Park development has been on hold, along with all other local board ‘One Local Initiative’ projects.

We have continued our advocacy work by making presentations to Waitemata Local Board meetings and to the independent Commissioners tasked with reviewing the RMA zone. We have also kept the community informed via updates;

here in the fabulous Ponsonby News (thank you Martin)

on our two Facebook pages, Ponsonby Park and 254 Ponsonbyrd

on our website 254ponsonbyrd.org.nz

on our on-site ‘Ponsonby Park‘ noticeboard next to Dizengoff café by the bus stop

on the Neighbourly.co.nz noticeboard

plus email notifications to all of those already on our extensive digital database.

Physical work was scheduled to have already begun on-site at 254 Ponsonby Road. Finally, the dream that so many have supported and nurtured for so long was to have been underway. But Covid-19 has temporarily delayed this. The Waitemata Local Board has publicly stated their desire for this delay to be for no more than one year. A desire we fully endorse.

In the meantime we have another exciting focus as “Auckland Transport (AT) is working with the community to trial people friendly spaces and safer ways to travel along Ponsonby Road. This is part of several Innovating Streets projects across Auckland designed to test quick, temporary changes to create safer, more vibrant, people friendly streets that are accessible for all”.

We have proposed a ‘pop-up walk-in terrarium’ (similar to the Green Air project image below) for Ponsonby Park and a much-needed pedestrian crossing. We think this will be a brilliant attractor of people to the area, provide a small piece of the magic that will one day be Ponsonby Park, and make it safe for everyone (access for all) to cross Ponsonby Road at this mid-point. Please support our ‘pop-up walk-in terrarium’ proposal by going to; www.letschat.mysocialpinpoint.com.au/ponsonby-road-innovatingstreets-for-people/#/marker/48371

And please also include your own concerns and ideas for Ponsonby Road’s Innovating Street project there too.

So to conclude, to EVERYONE who has been part of the Ponsonby Park journey to date; from the original members of the then Auckland City Council who had the vision to purchase the site in 2006, to the current Auckland Council who have continued to support the vision of the civic space through the retention of the entire site and the allocation of the endowment funding, to our Ward Councilor Pippa Coom, to the past and present members of the Waitemata Local Board and their support staff, but most importantly to YOU our community, who have consistently and continuously engaged with us throughout the Community-Led Design process, supporting us through this long and ongoing journey – we THANK YOU.

We couldn’t have done it without you!

Ponsonby Park will be a place of diversity and inclusion, where EVERYONE is welcome and it will ‘buzz with the sound of people’. It will be an urban oasis that will be good for the people, good for the environment, and good for Auckland. We know that one day this beautiful civic space will be available for all of our residents, visitors and local businesses to access and enjoy.

But for now, we wish you all a happy and safe holiday season, full of good cheer, rest and relaxation and we look forward to continuing our volunteer advocacy work for the new civic space at 254 Ponsonby Road that is Ponsonby Park, next year. Arohanui. (JENNIFER WARD)  PN

www.254ponsonbyrd.org.nz

LIFE HACKS OF TRIBAL ELDERS

Part One: Gerrie, retired in Herne Bay.

If you’ve heard of the Probus Club, you’ll know it’s a local association of retired people who get together on a regular basis to meet up with others of similar interests and to make new friends.

Probus has national and international affiliations, but the buzz in Auckland is definitely local. Monthly speakers are selected to talk about topics we want to know more about and social opportunities for lunches and outings bring us together to enjoy each other’s company, ideas and life hacks.

Yes – life hacks! It’s fair to say that this group of retirees were all once in the vanguard - the productive, dynamic edge of society. Ask a few questions and you soon find out that their varied professional backgrounds and wide range of personal life experiences represents a treasure trove of wisdom. Not to put too fine a point on it, these are our tribal elders and there’s a great deal of insight to be gleaned. Hence the idea for this series of short sketches about their life wisdom.

For our first introduction, meet Gerrie, who lives in Herne Bay. Before settling in New Zealand, she and her family lived in the UK, France and Singapore. She and her husband travelled around the world by yacht with their family of three young children, visiting many places over several years.

When they saw New Zealand, they decided that this would be their forever home. Summarised like that, it seems easy enough, but not so. This was an intrepid life journey that took courage, planning, vision, risk management and plain hard work. When they decided to settle in New Zealand, they faced all the hurdles that immigrants everywhere face: uprooting their lives; discovering unexpected barriers; the complexities of official applications and endless bureaucracy; winding up an old life; selling assets to make it happen; imagining an unknown future and keeping their children buoyant and positive through it all. I asked Gerrie about how she faced all these challenges in her life and her responses resonated with the positivity of an adventurer and the down-to-earth rationality of someone who knows how to pick themselves up from a fall.

“You have to keep your focus on where you are going, despite the wind. And most of all you have to accept that if plans fail, then you have to start all over again. You have to be at peace with that possibility.”

Gerri believes that her philosophy is replicable in everyone’s lives. She points out that most people have to build something up from nothing, whether it’s a business, a career, or a creative project.

“You must trust your body and mind and have belief in your partner too. It’s only possible if you are prepared to take the knocks, to get up again and keep focused on your objective.”

To use a nautical phrase, you may need to ‘come about’ many times, but you must always keep on target for your destination.

Gerrie, like so many in the Probus Club is part of our senior community with a brave past and significant life experience and wisdom at solving life’s problems.

Look out for more life hacks from Probus ‘tribal elders’ in future Ponsonby News magazines.

We’d love to introduce you to the club if you think you might enjoy the opportunity of getting together with other like-minded retirees for new experiences and friendships.

You can hear wonderful guest speakers and stay active by participating in a range of activities. If you would like more information about joining please contact Rosie Armstrong on T:09 486 5181, E: rosiearm@xtra.co.nz.