[wordup] Wellington - Car Free CBD?

[Adam Shand]

YUS YUS YUS!  Please, really ZOMG.  This would be awesome.   WANT.

I take offence to being told Wellington has a crap cafe culture, but  
I'm willing to let it slide due to overall A for awesome.

Adam.

Via: http://twitter.com/zefamedia/status/1252142215
Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/4860204a11.html

Wellington challenged to ban cars in CBD

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Wellington's mayor is in favour of ridding the cbd of vehicles and  
creating a pedestrian mall from Lambton Quay to Courtenay Place - but  
not yet.

The idea was suggested by property investor Sir Robert Jones in a  
speech to the Property Council of New Zealand, in which he challenged  
the mayor to do something about it.

Mayor Kerry Prendergast agreed with Sir Robert but said Wellington was  
too young for it to happen yet.

Sir Robert said statistics showed more than half the world's  
population lived in cities and it was ludicrous to have a cbd that  
catered for vehicles over people.

He compared the success of pedestrian-only city centres in the world  
to Canberra and Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. "They were designed  
around cars and nobody wants to live there."

Wellington's cafe culture was "crap" compared to European cities,  
mainly because there was a lack of pedestrian-only malls. Building  
tenants would love it because it would make the city more attractive  
and stimulate inner-city development, Sir Robert said.

Ms Prendergast was careful in her support for the idea, pointing out  
that many cities mentioned by Sir Robert had been around for centuries  
and Wellington was founded only in the 1800s. "It's one step at a time  
I'd love to do all these things tomorrow."

The council was "doing its best" to make life pleasant for  
pedestrians, with a lowered speed limit in Lambton Quay and a proposal  
for a 30kmh limit in Courtenay Place.

Any moves toward an extensive pedestrian precinct would have to take  
into account the rest of the city, such as the side streets to Lambton  
Quay and how they would be affected, Ms Prendergast said.

Support for pedestrian malls was illustrated by the backlash against a  
proposed bus lane through Manners Mall, but there were many  
Wellingtonians who were against banning vehicles from the main CBD  
streets, she said. Such a scheme would need the support of a wide  
range of people.

Property Council Wellington chairman Chris Gollins said the proposal  
was sensible and would make it easier to walk around the city. Public  
transport would be more efficient if routed through hubs that people  
could walk to.

He believed property owners and retailers would support the idea, but  
department store Kirkcaldie & Stains managing director John Milford  
was unconvinced.

Removing car access to Lambton Quay would cause problems in side  
streets and have ramifications for retailers, he said.

Shoppers wanted to drive close to their destinations, and if they  
could not, would go to Porirua or Lower Hutt where car parks were  
under cover and free. "I would have great difficulty with anything  
stopping my customers getting to me."

SIR BOB'S PEDESTRIAN-MALL PLAN:

Make the Lambton Quay to Courtenay Place route pedestrian-only
Put a skating rink in Courtenay Place
Commercial kiosks in the middle of the mall would earn the city  
council revenue
Reroute buses around the mall
Allow restricted access to delivery vehicles