Council has received around $80,000 of government funding for two ‘Business Bubble Zones' in Thames Street, Morrinsville from Waka Kotahi (New Zealand Transport Agency’s) Innovating Streets fund, which aims to create safer streets and more liveable spaces.

This funding application is one of several applications Council has put forward to central government in recent weeks to secure a share of the massive Government package aimed at creating jobs and keeping New Zealand’s economy moving.

And those applications are paying off, with Waka Kotahi agreeing to fund 90% of the Business Bubble Zones

The Business Bubble Zones were initially planned to help temporarily create more room for people to stand or sit along Thames Street while COVID-19 restrictions were in place - but they also help create vibrant, interesting spaces in the CBD, which can help attract people to town, or get them to stay in town longer. 

“While the Business Bubble Zones will be temporary, they also provide a great opportunity to help plan our future upgrade of the Morrinsville main street,"added Deputy Mayor, and member of the Recovery Working Party, Neil Goodger.  We want to create spaces that are more pedestrian friendly, and encourage people to visit and stay longer in our CBD. These areas are an ideal chance to test changes and get feedback from businesses and residents to provide direction for future improvements.”

The Business Bubble Zones will mean temporarily losing four car parks along Thames Street. We are aware that parking is often hard to find along Thames Street, but our surveys show that there is generally plenty of available parking along the side streets (and the new carpark behind the events centre is generally empty).

All of the elements of these spaces (such as seats and planter boxes) are designed to be flexible so we can trial different way to make the Business Bubble Zones work, or relocate them to other areas if required. 

That’s why it’s important that businesses and residents provide us feedback during the trial

Give feedback on the Business Bubble Zones.

Location of the Business Bubble Zones

Artist's impression of the Business Bubble Zones