Stage one of Riverside Park should be completed this summer, the Vincent Community Board heard last week.
Central Otago District Council project manager Christina Martin said the project "whanau" had expanded to include board member Jayden Cromb, construction and design team members, council staff and Riverside Park trustees.
The revised plan accepted by the board at the meeting was part of a phased approach that would reduce costs and create less disruption.
It would include a toilet block, shelter and seating, an area for food trucks along with bike parks and a tool station in a plaza with a walkway down to a pontoon floating at the confluence of the rivers, she said.
A feature would be a resin design embedded in the concrete on the shared pathway which would glow in the dark.
In January, Alexandra Miners Village and Riverside Park Trust member Rory Mclellan said after more than 12 years of discussions the project just needed to get going so people could see some progress, with access to the river and public toilets the first priority.
The new design achieved the trust’s intention to open up the area and take the town centre down to the river, he said at last week’s meeting.
"The main thing was to open up the river to the town ... and support what we’ve got to offer, especially the businesses operating near the river, to try and beautify the bottom end of Tarbert St and try and give the town centre a shot in the arm."
The trust was in it for the long haul and would keep working on different parts of the overall plan to make it better, including linking cycle paths to the area.
"I know it will be the catalyst for a lot of other great things to happen in the area."
Ms Martin said the project was on budget, with $1,275,948 of the $1.64m cost secured and more funding applications in progress.
To date $385,790 had been spent.
Council parks and reserves manager Gordon Bailey said trees would be removed along the river front from the bridge rather than just the width of Tarbert St as originally planned.
