Ideas

A lot of people tell me their ideas for the Zen Garden, and other buildings and areas in Featherston. Perhaps its time to gather them together in one place. So if you have an idea email me on robynjramsden@gmail.com or tell me in person, but make sure I write it down. I’ll start with some I’ve heard, and some of my own, just to kick things off.

In Putaruru there is street art, I know right, but it joins together a whole lot of street art. They have a flyer called Mosaic Art Trail – Putaruru all about it and I talked to the manager of the project, and it is maintained via annual donations. How about a rail line made of tiles making out a trail around Featherston? We can have art and wind sculptures dotted around town with railway stations at significant buildings and activities. I have two little children who just love trains and I bet a family stopping just for a break would be led all around town by their children following the little train track on the foot path. Just and idea.

Someone said to me the other day. You know the double storied building down by the War Memorial. That would make a great movie theatre, since we don’t have one. How cool would that be? Or a backpackers with a breakfast café to feed the hungry travellers before they went on their way.

There are many ideas about what to do with the Zen Garden.

My own idea provided to Council via the Feedback and the Annual Plan was to build an Events Centre. I’d just been to the Carterton Events Centre and was very impressed. New library, staffed information centre, meeting rooms that could be adjusted to allow for more attendees. Very shiny. I thought to add a youth room, like at the Johnsonville Community Centre, near the skate park. We could have our own new library and information centre. Meeting rooms. An industrial gas kitchen which can be hired out for people wishing to make preserves for sale. It could also be used in a Civil Defence emergency to feed the town as a gas set up would keep going without power. It would be a place to have a Craft and Gardeners Market. A place out of the wind and rain so the market could be run weekly. We could entice businesses wanting away days or planning days. They could be picked up for a cycle trail or wine tour after lunch and shopping in town.

A Petanque court in the Zen Garden.

A giant chess set in the Zen Garden or another park. There was and now is again one in Christchurch.

More retail shops.

A container mall. Think of the one in Cashel Mall in Christchurch. Instant shops. Easily removable once a developer comes along.

More parking along the main street. Diagonal so we can get more cars in.

Perhaps we could revamp the band rotunda in Cherry Tree Park so that we can have dances there. Use the park for town picnics and Midnight Terse.

 

Lets add more ideas and see if there is one we’d really like to do as a town and go about doing it. I suspect this page will be informed by the Positively Featherston Group as well. But email me at robynjramsden@gmail.com and I’ll flick them up here.