Between 2020 and 2022, Queen Street in the city centre transformed from a 4-lane rat-run for through traffic, into a people-friendly space where ‘Authorised Vehicles Only’ may travel. Authorised vehicles are buses, bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles, emergency vehicles, and registered goods vehicles.
Now, Auckland Transport is quietly launching a two-year “trial” of bringing back cars to Queen Street. To confuse users further, the car access will be only 7pm to 7am, while it remains ‘Authorised Vehicle Only’ 7am to 7pm.
It also proposes that bus lanes on Wellesley St, one of the busiest bus corridors in the city which is near completion of significant upgrades, only operate between 7am – 7pm (to align with the Queen Street free-for-all).
At the same time as this trial, you may have heard whispers of a new incorporated society, Lower Queen St Association Incorporated, set up to represent lower Queen Street businesses, with goals to return Queen Street to a 4-lane plus parking street. We’ll have more to share on this story in a future update.
Bringing back cars to Queen Street in any form is bad news for the vision of a people-friendly, low-emissions, future-focused, resilient city. Auckland has been working hard to make this vision a reality, and bringing cars back to Queen Street is unequivocally a step backwards.
Speak up now and tell Council why this isn’t okay (jump to how to give your input), or read on for the reasons why.
Thanks to Connor Sharp for his excellent Greater Auckland investigation – this article relies heavily on his work, with permission.
Why did we make Queen Street car-free?
To understand why this is a truly terrible idea, let’s remind ourselves why Queen Street became a pedestrian, public transport and bike haven in the first place.
Auckland Council’s City Centre Masterplan is a 20-year strategic vision to transform Auckland’s city centre into a more sustainable, people-friendly, and culturally rich environment. It focuses on enhancing public spaces, improving access via the “Access for Everyone” approach, and promoting sustainable, mixed-use development. The City Centre Masterplan was created in 2012 and refreshed in 2020.
The plan is designed to make the city center more liveable, with improved public spaces, and to guide long-term infrastructure and development decisions.
Today, Queen Street is a far cry from the noisy and polluted car-zone it was five years ago. Native plants and trees line the lower half of Queen Street, bringing nature and soft edges to the street. You’re reminded of the Waihorotiu stream as you wend your way along the curves of the cycle lane. People linger to enjoy spaces for eating lunch or having a mid-shop breather. Let’s make sure we can continue to enjoy it.
A long-term, integrated approach to city centre development
By taking a long-term and integrated approach to how the city centre develops, the City Centre Masterplan has allowed for the impact of future developments, like how City Rail Link will bring many more people on foot and on bikes into the city centre.
A “revitalised, pedestrian-priority Queen Street… which is free of through-traffic” is a key part of the City Centre Masterplan, designed to bring new life into the heart of the city.
According to the plan, a lot of the growth in pedestrian traffic is expected to be off-peak / in the evenings, especially when City Rail Link opens. Wait – isn’t that exactly the time of day when Auckland Transport are going to let the cars back in?
Who wants Queen Street to be car-free and who doesn’t?
The design for a car-free Queen Street has always been popular with the public. During consultation on the City Centre Masterplan, the Queen Street plans received 84% support. It’s a similar picture of majority public support since implementation, with people enthusiastic about public transport, greenery, pedestrian access, safety and comfort. If anything, there’s demand for full pedestrianisation.
Despite this, the public have had to speak up again and again to keep the well-thought out plan, as explained in Greater Auckland.
And here we are again.
So who wants cars back on Queen Street?
This proposal seems to come from senior decision makers at AT, against the recommendations of their public transport team, who pulled together the analysis report on it.
In that report, there are references to “reputation” and “reputation risk”, in the context of “listening to stakeholders.” Yet, we know most public stakeholders are overwhelmingly positive about car-free Queen Street.
It appears that there are a few stakeholders pressuring AT to do this, which has led them to fold, despite the wider public view in support.
Here’s what Connor Sharp has to say about it in Greater Auckland:
“Again and again, the decision-makers (senior AT leadership) go against:
- the advice of their public transport team
- the democratic consensus on strategy and vision
- and the wishes of the public
… in the process, actively undermining the promise of CRL, our nation’s single biggest infrastructure investment.
And all in a pointless attempt to appease a vocal minority who never have and never will stop complaining, even when they get their way.
Sound familiar? Yep, shades of Project K.
Frankly, it’s not exactly been a good-faith process. AT’s complete lack of engagement with anyone outside the small number of people they talked to shows that.”
Raise your voice about cars on Queen Street: here’s how
The exact shape of the Midtown trial is not yet locked in, but we don’t have much time.
So it’s really important we speak up, as quickly as possible, to make sure:
- The trial can be adjusted as soon as possible.
- The trial instead delivers the transformation people have continually asked for and support (pedestrianised Queen Street, prioritisation of public transport on Wellesley Street, etc.).
We’re going to need people power to win this, so we need your help.
Please send an email, addressed to the following people:
- Mayor Wayne Brown
- Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson
- Waitematā and Gulf Ward Councillor Mike Lee
- Chair of the Transport and Infrastructure Delivery Committee Andy Baker
- CEO Auckland Council Phil Wilson
- AT Chief Executive Dean Kimpton
- AT Chair Richard Leggat
- AT Acting Director Network Performance Melanie Alexander
- AT Director Public Transport and Active Modes Stacey Van Der Putten
- AT Engagement Email Address
To: mayor.wayne.brown@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz, desley.simpson@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz, mike.lee@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz, andrew.baker@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz, phil.wilson@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz, chief.executive@at.govt.nz, Richard.leggat@at.govt.nz, Melanie.Alexander@at.govt.nz, Stacey.VanDerPutten@at.govt.nz, atengagement@at.govt.nz
Feel free to cc:
- the Waitematā Local Board (who were also blindsided by this trial, and as far as I know broadly do not support what AT is doing)
- the deputy chair of the Transport and Infrastructure Delivery Committee Shane Henderson (shane.henderson@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz)
- any other elected members you feel should be included.
What to include in your feedback on the Midtown trial
In your email, you could:
- state your opposition to the process that has led to this trial
- and your opposition to its starting premise, which is about increasing access for general vehicles at the expense of public transport and people.
You may also wish to mention
- the trial as proposed does not follow the vision set out for the City Centre in the Masterplan, nor its transport component Access for Everyone.
- the timing is premature – with CRL opening later this year a trial like this should have been considered only after CRL has had time to settle in.
- the trial is pushing outcomes that are the opposite of what the public have consistently said they want in previous consultations.
Therefore, Auckland Transport (and/or Auckland Council) should immediately adjust the trial to instead:
- Implement 24/7 bus lanes on Wellesley Street, to ensure public transport is reliable and to maximise the value of City Rail Link.
- Progress pedestrianisation of Queen Street by extending the Authorised Vehicles Only all the way to Customs Street, and keep it 24/7.
- Implement logical pickup and drop off plans for Ubers and taxis around Midtown.
- Ensure mobility access is enabled around Midtown, without allowing a free-for-all of private vehicles.
Additionally, it’s always good to include your own personal experience and perspective. For example:
- What do you like about biking in the City Centre?
- What do you enjoy about biking and walking in the city centre’s people-friendly areas (such as the Waterfront, Te Komititanga, Freyberg Place, Te Hā Noa/Victoria Street Linear Park).
- If you take public transport, especially via Queen St or Wellesley St, is reliability important to you?
- Do you want to see Queen Street (more / fully) vehicle-free? If so, include why!
You can also mention that you value better outcomes for these factors:
- safe cycling access
- public transport reliability
- walkability
- noise pollution
- air pollution
- pedestrian safety
- the quality of the street environment for public life
- and more.
As always, remember to be polite but firm in your views.
We know we can win this – and ensure that we get the city we want and deserve. But only if we take action!
So send an email to those above, and share this article as widely as you can. Thank you!
