21: A Pit Stop for City Cycling
What if we made better use of forgotten spaces?
As we move about Auckland there are so many small spaces that seem to have no or little purpose. Surely these forgotten small corners can be put to better use as the city grows and develops?
One such space is the small pavilion at the bottom of Nelson Street. It sits looking out over one of the biggest and most terrifying intersections in the city centre – where Fanshawe Street, Nelson Street, Sturdee Street and Market Place come together.
Surprisingly, given this unpromising location, out the other side, the rear of the building feels surprisingly shielded from the big roads. This is largely thanks to a huge tree that is surely a candidate for Patrick Reynold’s list of top urban trees Reynold’s survey of top urban trees. There is even a glimpse of water and boats to the west looking down Pakenham Street East.
The building is, as far as can be gleaned from the outside at least, unused.
It seems there is an opportunity to reclaim it as an amenity for city cyclists who may soon be regular passers-by. There is in the not too distant future the prospect of a possible Nelson Street cycleway rolling down the hill to meet up with the new Westhaven Drive cycleway and popular Viaduct Harbour / Wynyard Quarter routes through to Quay Street. The Skypath will likely only add to the popularity of these routes.
This wee kiosk is almost ideally placed to provide a pit stop for people cycling between these routes. Some changing facilities, a small café and pocket park (gained by closing the unnecessary slip road to the rear of the building) and you could imagine it becoming very popular.
Similar facilities haven’t been able to last in the past. But, with a likely upsurge in cycle infrastructure coming, should we be thinking about these sorts of things again?
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I like the idea of a cycleway along Nelson St, but the last bit near the bottom is a bit steep.
Anyone know what this building was for? There’s another similar one a short way down Sturdee St almost under the flyover.
The nice little brick building is the base for the scooter riding street cleaners the other one under the flyover is for their plant,ride on footpath cleaners and vacs etc
This building is used (well at least it was when I used to work around that way) as toilet facilities/smoko room for council street cleaners, rubbishmen etc. etc.
There was just such a base for cyclists in Britomart Place, just a wee while ago; it’s now a Mexican Cafe.
It would appear that it didn’t work; someone else may know more about it.
I love the idea. The building and tree could provide a wonderful venue, the question for me is how does it pay for itself? As in the post, it’s probably going to have to sell something (coffee, bike service, bike storage…). Access is a bit of a problem from some angles. I guess the business case for any proposal like this needs careful interrogation. Hopefully spaces like this can be better utilised as per Stuart’s post. Sorry this reads like a pre-coffee ramble….