Auckland reborn: Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick launches petition to pedestrianise Queen St

Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick has launched a petition to pedestrianise Queen St and transform the area into a cultural hub.

Swarbrick launched the petition, directed towards Auckland Council and mayor Phil Goff, in partnership with the City Centre Residents' Group.

"We are calling on Auckland Council to turn Queen Street into a pedestrian-friendly zone.

"This will transform the area into a cultural hub and living space for our 40,000 residents and hundreds of thousands of visitors, instead of a thoroughfare that pushes people to the sidelines."

Swarbrick said a similar model had been implemented in Australia with "great success" on Sydney's George St.

"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."

Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick. Photo / Alison Grant

Swarbrick said it would be a "fool's game" to think Auckland would return to pre-Covid working trends, and it was time to evolve.

Nolene Buckland, from the City Centre Residents Group, said during the Covid-19 lockdown, it was the residents who kept the city centre alive - and they walk everywhere.

She said pedestrianising the street would make it the first in Auckland - and there are many reasons to do so.

"Part of that is climate change, less pollution, less emissions and part of it is just making places for people. We know what we want to be, we just have to do it," she says.

Swarbrick agreed, saying pedestrianising the street would make it much more enjoyable for the community.

"Our neighbourhood is so much more than a CBD - it is a city centre and we deserve an environment that celebrates, embraces and reflects that.

"We've got enough plans, enough vision. We've had enough disruption and enough unsatisfactory compromise. It's time to commit and do it properly."