After insisting changes to K Rd would bring riches to retailers, AT this afternoon sent out teams to reinstate parking spaces between 10am and 3pm on the northern side of the road that had been removed ahead of changes coming in on Sunday.
The council-controlled organisation (CCO) did not say if it was reinstating all of the 27 car parks on K Rd until February 11 to allow businesses to plan for the changes.
In a message, provided by Brown to the Herald, he told Kimpton to “stop trashing AT’s improving public perception and your own”, adding “the K Road handling just gets worse”.
The mayor also confirmed to the Herald that he had been led to believe by AT yesterday that pauses to the project, involving shorter hours for loading zones until February 11, also involved pausing the removal of car parks for shoppers until February 11.
This led Brown to issue a statement last night that implied he supported all the of the changes coming into effect on Sunday, including the removal of car parks.
A senior Auckland Council staffer called AT’s behaviour a “really, really, really grave mistake…it’s just arrogance”.
Kimpton has declined requests from the Herald to talk about the matter, leaving other staff to defend the consultation process for K Rd, which retailers said ignored their concerns about dire financial consequences.
AT chief executive Dean Kimpton. Photo / Michael Craig
Today it was the turn of public transport boss Stacey van der Putten to apologise, saying AT had the best of intentions, but recognised its engagement with K Rd businesses should have been better.
This was the second apology by van der Putten - on Friday she apologised to businesses for the “poor communication” but told them the full package of changes was still proceeding on Sunday for a new Western Express bus service.
AT acting chairman Mark Dallow has also copped feedback from Waitemata councillor Mike Lee, who has been on the board of AT and played a major role in the revitalisation of public transport in Auckland over the past 20 years.
Lee said what is happening on K Rd is not ‘stuffing up the comms’ but a deeply flawed policy.
“Intelligent planning for integrated transport needs to factor in the vital role of short-stay car parks and loading zones in commercial inner-city supply chains.
“The ideologically driven autocratic approach of effectively using cycleways and bus lanes as weapons in the war on cars, to eradicate short-stay parking, is socially and economically destructive, it is unnecessary and is damaging the city and causing deep public resentment,” Lee said.
In a statement to the Herald, Darrow said, “AT has been working really hard and making good progress to consult and communicate better with Council, Local Boards and communities. It is clear we have let ourselves down in this case which is really disappointing. Common sense has prevailed today and we will re-set our conversation with that local community.”
AT’s media manager Blake Crayton-Brown said the car park issue was raised with them by the Karangahape Business Association on Monday and “a number of constructive conversations” had been had since then.
“By early afternoon on Wednesday we had paused a key change as part of this project for three months (the introduction of 7am till 7pm bus lanes on the northern side of the road) and this afternoon we have confirmed we are reinstating general parking on this side of the road over summer,” Crayton-Brown said today.
AT is removing the 7am to 7pm signs for now. Photo / Dean Purcell
Many retailers on K Rd have spoken out about the financial consequences of the loss of parking, coming on top of years of disruption from the City Rail Link, the $30 million cycleway/road improvements, and Covid-19.
Jason Robinson, who runs Army and Outdoors, said many businesses are doing it really tough and if they are going to be to ride out the next 12 months or more with no parking some will not survive.
He and other business owners are scathing of the “one-sided” consultation process.
“It’s almost like the outcome has been pre-determined and they are just finding evidence to support what they want to do. The businesses don’t feel listened to,” said Robinson.
Another retailer said she had been in business on K Rd for 23 years and is “really stressed out” about the changes.
“You take away our parking, you take away our customers … I don’t know how I will survive without customer parking,” said the woman, who owns a clothing and jewellery store.
Bernard Orsman is an Auckland-based reporter who has been covering local government and transport since 1998. He joined the Herald in 1990 and worked in the parliamentary press gallery for six years.
