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Creating an 800m public promenade along Auckland's Quay St with a giant floating screen has been suggested as an alternative to Prime Minister John Key's "party central" plans for Queens Wharf.
Mr Key, who wants the wharf to become "party central" for next year's Rugby World Cup, yesterday backed away from a push by Cup Minister Murray McCully to adopt a grander design than proposed in a much-maligned contest ditched in November.
Mr Key said if a new design was too rushed and compromised the Crown's long-term objectives for the waterfront, the Government would have no qualms about erecting a good, short-term development for the cup.
"We are not going to rush a decision on the waterfront simply to meet our short-term objectives for the Rugby World Cup," he said.
Mr Key said a short-term development could cost $15 million to $20 million, half of which would be for long-term infrastructure.
Mr McCully's plan would have pushed the cost of developing the wharf, including a cruise ship terminal, from $47 million at the design-contest stage to about $100 million.
Auckland leaders have been at odds over the McCully plan. Regional council chairman Mike Lee is keen to proceed with a cruise ship terminal in time for the cup if a new design appeals to the public.
Auckland City Mayor John Banks wants to spruce up the wharf for the cup and wait for the Super City, when a masterplan can be put in place for the entire waterfront.
As central and local government politicians argue over Queens Wharf, Cooper and Company, the developer of the Britomart precinct, has released a high-level strategic document for the waterfront which takes a broader approach than just redeveloping Queens Wharf.
The uncosted plan involves making use of land behind the red fence to create a 35m-wide promenade from the Viaduct Harbour to Bledisloe Wharf, a distance of 800m.
The promenade - fronting Britomart - would be lined with trees and hedges and include seating and lighting. The existing four lanes of road, 20m wide, would stay.
Between Queens and Captain Cook wharves would be a stepped terrace down to the water's edge facing a giant screen on a pontoon. The landward side of the wharves could be used for cup marquees.
Cooper and Company chief executive Matthew Cockram said the Britomart masterplanner, Sydney architect Richard Johnson, felt Queens Wharf was fine but a better focus was to develop and concentrate people along the west-east axis that is Quay St.
Instead of spending money on a temporary set-up on Queens Wharf for the cup, Mr Cockram said, it would be better to spend money on Quay St to create a permanent promenade that, in time, would open up the entire waterfront.
He believed upgrading Quay St would be within the $47 million budget for the design contest.
Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey, a member of a Government group to promote events for the cup, said he did not want a quick-fix design and was keen on a waterside walkway and using floating pontoon screens.
