Big turnout for Green Corridor parade (+pics&video)

Green Corridor opening parade through Rotorua this evening. Photo/Ben Fraser

Rotorua residents turned out in force this evening to help celebrate the official opening of the new Green Corridor through the city.

Mayor Steve Chadwick and visiting officials from the United Nations Global Compact Cities Programme cut a green ribbon to open the new pathway in front of a large crowd.

They then took to bikes to lead a parade along the Green Corridor route through the inner city via the Night Market and down to Kuirau Park.

Along the way and in Kuirau Park local performers entertained parade-goers with a mix of lively music and dance.

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It was a fun, festive, family affair with balloons and music, and many people reinforcing the environmental theme of the corridor by wearing green.

Bikes, trikes, skates, skateboards, scooters and walking shoes were among the modes of people-propelled transport employed by parade-goers experiencing the complete Green Corridor for the first time.

After the parade, many found their way back to the Night Market for an evening of food and shopping, and more entertainment.

The nearly 2km Green Corridor, which stretches from Government Gardens, across the inner city and through to the Lake Road boundary of Kuirau Park, provides a linkage with cycling pathways east and west of the city.

Rotorua Lakes Council's Inner City Revitalisation Portfolio lead Councillor Karen Hunt says the Green Corridor has been designed so people can experience and enjoy the inner city.

"It's not meant as a quick thoroughfare but as a way to relax and explore what's on offer in city. We want people to feel engaged and excited by the new corridor and what it represents as part of our inner city revival."