51: La Rambla Reina?
What if Queen Street could feel like Auckland’s answer to La Rambla?
Despite its tatty $2 shop reputation, Queen Street has been quietly undergoing a significant urban renaissance over the last seven or eight years. This dates back to the $40million plus streetscape upgrade which saw much of the on-street parking removed, all bus services except the Inner Link and Airbus relocated out, widening and decluttering of footpaths, new high quality flagstone paving, street furniture, lighting, the now signature nikau palms and not the least, the double-phasing of the much-loved Barne’s Dance crossings. Importantly, allowance was also made by the former Auckland City Council for additional opex expenditure to maintain this significant investment including much higher spec street cleaners operating on a daily cleaning and maintenance schedule.
Good things take time and in the seven or eight years since this major disruption and change it is easy to forget how far we have come. Queen Street retail is currently experiencing very dynamic and wide-ranging change as leases end, landlords upgrade spaces and new and established retailers locate and relocate and try new things.
Meanwhile, pedestrian numbers have increased hugely, reflecting the big growth in employment numbers, city centre residents and visitors over this time. As well as this big influx in pedestrian numbers, general traffic in Queen Street is far lower than before the upgrade. This means, at present that in any given block of Queen Street between Customs Street and Aotea Square, there is an average of around 45,000 – 60,000 pedestrians per day and just 7500 vehicles per day in any one block.
These changes all add up to a street that is not only far more pleasant than it was before but with pedestrian foot traffic that ensures it truly functions as the principal pedestrian backbone and main thoroughfare of the city. It is by far both the fastest and most pleasant way to get anywhere around the city by foot before branching off to the east or west to one’s destination.
On the back of this there seems to be a growing appetite for more far-reaching change. Opinions seem mixed on this. Priorities may be better placed elsewhere and the time for this might not be just yet – perhaps lets allow Queen Street to continue to evolve and flourish off the back of the investment – but in the future it seems there is good scope to make further changes to Queen Street to become a more people-centric place and pedestrian spine at the heart of the city.
Queen Street could become Auckland’s very own answer to Barcelona’s La Rambla – a river of heaving humanity that builds in energy as it flows from the Karangahape Road ridgeline down to the sea. On the best sunny summer days, or the (irregular) occasions where we get to close it off to traffic, it often feels a little like this already. But it could be like this all the time. A truly memorable city street we could be all proud of. Wouldn’t that make for a better Auckland?
Stuart Houghton 2014
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I still could not understand why our shops in city closes at 4 in weekend
Would there be a case for taking all traffic out of Queen Street and having pedestrians only? Would the Council see that as a good idea ornot?
http://greaterakl.wpengine.com/2011/08/30/guest-post-why-are-there-cars-on-queen-st/
Las Ramblas still allows cars, but it is just a single lane each way on each side I believe. The huge centre part is for pedestrians. They could do this in Queen St no problem too, or at least from Aotea Square down to the bottom.
No need for cars, deliveries, emergency, and transit: A shared space, what is called in the US; A Transit Mall.
Auckland has twice the number of days of rain and twice the rainfall.
Patrick, Do you believe the Council would run with the suggestion of no cars in Queen Street?
Yes, but when is the question. And the answer is the day that they realise that retailers should not be given a veto over important public realm decisions that really affect everyone.
Too timid about this and on street parking in the face of kvetching unimaginative shopkeepers.
What is a double phasing of the pedestrian crossing mean? You dont wait very long?
Single phasing-
1- Cars go east west
2- cars go north south
3- all peds cross
Double phasing-
1- cars go east west
2- all peds cross
3- cars go north south
4- all peds cross
Queen street has had its upgrade and the businesses chose to keep four lanes of traffic, time to spend money elsewhere now.
Queen Street is too important for Auckland to be held in a car-centric stasis simply because of decisions made a decade ago by a Citizens and Ratepayers dominated council and parochial retailers. The car bias of Auckland Transport becomes even more apparent when looking at the pedestrian counts on streets like this and yet cars still command the majority of space along its length. Furthermore, AT refuse to even install zebra pedestrian crossings on side streets such as Shortland Street because of the fear of delaying cars driving down here onto Queen Street. I fathom to imagine a time when AT will ever actually do things for people rather than car capacity.
Why should the businesses get to decide, the lo0cal residents don’t want cars on Queen St.
Queen Street should be pedestrian only; we need to have “people” spaces and “transit” spaces. Same with the shared spaces – Elliott Street should be pedestrian only.
HOWEVER, once you do that you need to ensure that your “transit” spaces e.g. Symonds Street, Victoria Street etc, are truly optimised for rapid movement of vehicles
Buchanan street in Glasgow – pedestrian haven, similar length to queen street and festooned with high end retailers turning over significantly more than Auckland retailers in the largest UK shopping city outside London – oh, and it rains a shed load more in Glasgow than Auckland so a much better comparison than Barcelona
Retailers that feel that the present footpaths are places to put board advertising, will not get my patronage. This is particularly true in Newmarket where the amount of clutter on the footpath makes pedestrian congestion to much for this old geezer. Now avoid it as much as possible.