Cars likely gone from Auckland's High St by 2022, but progress slower than some hoped

Friday, 26 July 2019

Reclaiming Auckland streets from cars is still in the 'too hard' basket.

Cars could be gone from Auckland's High St by the end of 2022 if Mayor Phil Goff gets his way.

Despite claims the 2022 aim is three years ahead of schedule, the timeline appears slower than some had hoped.

The changes will be trialled on High St from October, Goff announced on Friday morning alongside Planning Committee chairman Chris Darby. Darby says the changes to High St have been 'desired for some time'.

Earlier this month, Auckland Council 'Design Champion' Ludo Campbell-Reid told Stuff the open streets programme was a matter of time and money.

* Cars will be banned from Auckland's Queen St, and it could spread

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff says the previous plan was to have High St pedestrian friendly by 2025.

* New Year's Eve revellers to get car-free Auckland streets

* Businesses petition for O'Connell St to become car free

* On-street parking a thing of the past for booming Auckland suburb**

This is what Auckland's High St could look like by 2022.

'They require months of planning, dedicated budget, legal permits and traffic management plans,' he said.

It had been hoped traffic through High St could be ended in the next 12 to 18 months.

The official line from Goff and Darby, though, is that a closure by the end of 2022 would be three years earlier than planned.

'The plans that were delivered to Chris and I were for six years and we've halved that to three years,' Goff said.

Councillor and Planning Committee chairman Chris Darby says removing cars from central city streets is something desired by ratepayers.

'It is a trial and we will learn from the trial, and that means that when we actually start spending the serious money on this street we will have got it right.'

Sticking to that date would require approval by Auckland Council's Finance and Performance Committee.

'I have heard the calls of City Centre Advisory Board members and Aucklanders to just get on with it and I am proposing we accelerate this project by three years. Auckland's city centre needs to be rebalanced towards people,' Goff said.

'We want to return streets to Aucklanders and create a thriving commercial and cultural area for residents, workers, students and visitors to enjoy, not simply a parking lot.'

Council counts on High St showed there were 14 pedestrians for every vehicle with a sole occupant.

'Upgrading High Street makes sense—large numbers of pedestrians are squeezed onto narrow footpaths by relatively few cars, reducing enjoyment, safety and air quality,' Goff said.

The trials will run for seven months, beginning at the northern end of High St.

Businesses owners and residents would give feedback so the council could 'test and refine' changes to the street.

Darby said the success of shared spaces had 'galvanised a growing public desire to hurry up the radical re-conceptualising of High St'.

'We are changing the way we think about our urban streets, fostering design that recognises the vitality of people as the anchor of city life,' he said.

'Where pedestrians outnumber cars by 1400 per cent as on High St, personal mobility and enjoyment trumps parking and kerbs to bring people out on the street.'

Darby said the changes to the street had been 'desired for some time'.

Council teams had been walking High St talking to businesses and property as well as residents' groups and Heart of the City.

'There is a very strong single voice to get on and have a crack at this street and do it double-quick,' Darby said.

'It's time to trigger that change. We will ask people to tell us their experiences and finalise a plan for the city centre, as well as look at how the concept can be scaled to apply to local centres.'

Queen St is another city thoroughfare likely to be made pedestrian friendly in the future, however Goff did not have a timeline for that work.

'A lot of it will depend around what happens with the light rail [down Queen St],' he said.

Goff said most of the money to pay for the changes will come from the city centre targeted rate, which is paid by businesses and residents to upgrade CBD.