A new petition is calling for faster action to make Auckland's Queen Street more pedestrian friendly.
Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook
The call has come from Green MP for Auckland Central Chlöe Swarbrick and the City Centre Residents' Group.
Queen St / Waihorotiu valley deserves its own identity, to be a destination rather than a thoroughfare, Swarbrick told Morning Report.
In order to do this, she said, it needs to be a place people want to hang out.
"People do not congregate on roads, they congregate in spaces that are made and designed for them."
Queen Street Photo: 123RF
Pedestrianising Queen St would mean access for everybody - something signed off in the city centre master plan ten years ago and refreshed two years ago, Swarbrick said.
"It would be effectively closing a few blocks of Queen St akin to what people may think of Cuba St for example," she said.
"We've seen a model for this over the ditch with great success, on Sydney's George Street. Here too, we can reclaim the streets for the people of Tāmaki Makaurau.
"If Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland wants to be the world's most Liveable City, we need the city centre to reflect the needs of people on the ground.
"When you prioritise people, you also prioritise their exploration and interaction with small businesses that may otherwise be bypassed."
It is not just a CBD but home to 45,000 Aucklanders, she said.
"We deserve a space that everybody can enjoy and again, that's a destination for visitors.
"Frankly, it's time to get on with the job."
City Centre Resident's Groups' Noelene Buckland said the group's position is that all of the tough work had already been done.
"We now need the Auckland Council whānau to deliver on it as per the commitments made above. We have done the hard yards - now we need the brooms to sweep the street clean and build what we promised everyone.
"A vibrant pedestrian priority shopping street at the heart of Waihorotiu / Queen Street Valley - Queen Street will support centre-running transit (starting with buses) and become the centrepiece of a greatly expanded pedestrian priority and low emissions zone."
