Streetscape and Town Centre Paving in Auckland

A town centre upgrade is paving at its most public. Thousands of people walk over it every day, the council and the retailers are watching the programme, and every cobble, kerb and crossing has to line up with a design that was drawn to the millimetre. Pavecraft has laid the streets, footpaths and public spaces for some of Auckland's larger streetscape projects, including the Papakura Town Centre, the Warkworth Town Centre Upgrade, the Northern Busway stations and the Canada Street cycle pathway.

What streetscape work involves

Streetscape paving is a different trade from laying a courtyard. The surfaces are heavier duty, the tolerances are tighter, the site is live and the work is almost always staged so the street stays open. Our crews are set up for it.

• Cobbles, setts and clay pavers laid on mortar or on a rigid base for high traffic footpaths and pedestrian areas, with tactile indicators, kerb ramps and crossings built in. See granite and natural stone.
• Kerb and channel, edge beams and traffic islands - extruded and formed concrete kerbing to the council's standard drawings, including bus stops, build outs and raised tables. See kerbing, kerb and channel.
• Machine laid paving for large plazas, shared streets and bus interchanges, where mechanical laying keeps the programme short and the pattern consistent. See paving services.
• Shared paths and cycleways in coloured or plain concrete with the falls, joints and edging that a long thin slab needs to stay crack free.
• Permeable paving and tree pits where the stormwater design wants water to soak rather than run.
• Street furniture footings, planters and seating walls so the whole hard landscape comes from one contractor.

Keeping the street open

Every town centre we have worked in stayed open for business while we were there. That takes traffic management plans, staged work areas that move along the street, temporary crossings, and a crew that cleans up at the end of every shift. We brief the retailers on what is happening outside their door and when, because a shop that knows its footpath is being lifted on Tuesday is a shop that does not ring the council on Wednesday. Pavecraft is Sitewise Gold accredited and our supervisors are used to working under council and Auckland Transport safety requirements.

Working with civil contractors and councils

Most streetscape work reaches us as a subcontract package under a civil or construction main contractor, and we have long standing alliances with Dempsey Wood, Hick Construction, Ross Reid, Teak Construction, Macrennie Construction, Naylor Love and NZ Strong. We also work directly for councils, council controlled organisations and business associations on smaller upgrades, from a single block of footpath to a village centre. If you are pricing a streetscape package, our page for main contractors sets out how we work as a subcontractor.

The details the public notices

On a streetscape the details are the job. Cut pavers that meet a kerb cleanly, a pattern that runs true around a corner, crossings that sit flush with the channel, tactiles in the right place, and joints that are full. We take pride in the fact that people can walk the streets we laid in Papakura and Warkworth today and see paving that still looks as it did when it was opened. If a street we laid ever needs attention, our repair crews lift and relay it to match.