Cycling group Movement has said it may seek legal action if Waka Kotahi doesn’t run a trial of a walking/cycling lane on the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Video / NZ Herald / Waka Kotahi / Auckland Unlimited
Transport Minister Michael Wood plans to give councils the power to ban cars on roads at certain times and remove kerbside parking in favour of cycleways and bus lanes - without prior consultation.
Wood also wants councils to restrict traffic outside schools to encourage parents and children to walk and cycle - improving exercise safety.
But the minister has assured parents who drive their children to school that they have nothing to worry about and will still be able to drop them off nearby.
The proposals come from the "Reshaping Streets" report, devised to help councils and Auckland Transport (AT) quickly make widespread changes to streets to support public transport, cycling, walking and people-friendly spaces.
Transport Minister Michael Wood. Photo / Alex Burton
Wood said the changes will also help meet the country's climate change emission reduction targets and make roads safer for all users.
National Party transport spokesman Simeon Brown described "Reshaping Streets" as a radical proposal that revealed Labour's deeply ingrained anti-car ideology.
Under the proposals, as drafted, councils would have the power to "prohibit or restrict the use of motor vehicles, or one or more classes of motor vehicles, on the roadway".
They will also be allowed to pilot street changes for up to two years without consulting with impacted people, businesses and communities beforehand.
Councils will have to give the public a reasonable opportunity to provide feedback during the trial and can modify the pilot. Before the pilot ends, councils need to decide whether to make any or all of the piloted changes permanent.
Another proposal allows councils to "filter" traffic on roads by installing bollards or planter boxes. This will stop cars and/or other vehicles using roads in favour of pedestrians, cyclists and people on scooters and skateboards.
Transport Minister Michael Wood's changes are geared towards more people cycling and fewer people driving. Photo / Michael Craig
Wood's proposal to get more parents and children out of cars and walking or cycling to school is called "School Streets" and follows similar changes in the United Kingdom and Canada.
It would restrict traffic at or near a school during drop-off and pick-up times. Councils will also have the power to create a "School Street" or set one up as part of a pilot, but Wood said he expected councils will work with schools when making changes.
The combined changes go beyond AT's controversial new parking strategy to remove kerbside parking for cycleways, which has been pushed back until after the local body election in October after failing to get public support and for some further consultation.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff trashed the first version that gave AT unfettered power to remove parking as "totally arrogant" and anti-democratic.
Goff said the "Reshaping Streets" proposals will not undermine the democratic process and said it allows for greater flexibility around consultation.
"Local authorities would be able to modify a pilot while it is underway in response to feedback, leading to improved outcomes for streetscape upgrades that better meet the needs of local communities," he said.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff. Photo / Dean Purcell
AT, which is responsible for any new roading powers, would be working with Auckland Council to prepare a joint submission on the proposals, a spokesman said.
"We're not in a position to give an AT perspective until we have finalised our submission with the council," said the spokesman, adding AT had not formally advocated for any of the proposals.
He said the revised version of the draft parking strategy will be the overarching strategy guiding the management of on-street parking in Auckland.
Simon Douglas, general manager of motoring affairs for the Automobile Association, said there were some sensible technical adjustments in Wood's proposals, such as changes around bus shelters, making it easier to create pedestrian malls and community street events.
But he said AA would want to look closely at the proposal to pilot street changes for up to two years with no pre-consultation with people, businesses and communities who might be impacted.
"We have seen recently in Wellington cycleway changes that involved the removal of parking has really concerned small local businesses and it got as far as proposing judicial challenges," Douglas said.
Simeon Brown said councils will have significantly heightened powers to carve up streets at their own discretion.
"This means less consultation with communities when it comes to creating cycleways, removing on-street car parks, installing speed bumps and reducing speed limits.
National Party transport spokesman Simeon Brown. Photo / Mark Mitchell
"Kiwis could also lose access to their street due to 'modal filters', which would effectively allow the banning of cars, or some types of cars, from some streets. Additionally, streets could even be used as playgrounds at certain times during the day.
"These proposals are radical and take road users out of the picture," he said.
Wood sees the proposals through a different lens, saying many streets do not allow people to live, shop and meet with friends and whānau safely and easily.
"Some of the rules for managing streets are 50 years old and outdated. We're moving to update them to reflect people's needs and give communities new ways to be involved in changes that affect them," he said.
Public consultation on the proposals runs for six week until September 19. Wood plans to have a new regulatory rule for the "Reshaping Streets" proposals in place by the end of the year and some changes to the Local Government Act coming to Parliament next year.
