GORDON LIGHTFOOT | Local
FINALLY!
After years of Wellingtonians complaining about failing infrastructure in the CBD, Wellington City Council has at last listened to ratepayers.
Mayor Tory Whanau has just announced a second bucket fountain will be built on Te Aro Park, Manners Street, just metres from the city’s infamous Courtenay Place.
The new fountain will be based on the design of the Cuba Mall bucket fountain, which has been the only bucket fountain Wellingtonians have been able to access since it was built in 1969.
“About bloody time,” said one Wellington resident as he slipped slightly on the wet paving next to the Cuba Mall fountain. “Good to see our skyrocketing rates going to good use, finally.”
Pākete Puahiritanga, which loosely translates to “bucket fountain”, will of course include nods to changing times, acknowledging various causes through the patterns on individual buckets. Buckets include a rainbow bucket, a Maori flag bucket, a Palestine bucket and a Ukraine bucket.
Tory Whanau says that water infrastructure is a key focus for her council. “We’ve listened, and what we’ve heard is people are less interested in cycle lanes in 2025, and more focused on modern, quality water infrastructure,” she said to reporters this morning.
“This second bucket fountain will address the needs of all Wellingtonians, and take some of the pressure off the Cuba Mall fountain, which has been at capacity for decades.”
The new fountain is set to be delivered in 2035 at a cost of $20 million.
More to come.
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