Editorial: Auckland Council must see common sense in Queen St debacle

Viv Beck, chief executive of the business group Heart of the City, in front of some of the varied devices deployed on Queen St. Photo / Alex Burton

Editorial

EDITORIAL

Silly ideas have a way of dropping in suddenly when emotion overrides common sense, and then sticking around long after the moment has subsided.

Such were the plastic sticks, planter boxes, orange cones, yellow and black hooped barrier arms and all other assortment of impediments that tumbled out of the sky on to Auckland's Queen St a year ago.

Last week, Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck finally said enough and announced on the front page of the Weekend Herald that her agency would join the civic insurrection being spearheaded by the Save the Queen Street incorporated society.

The society sought the immediate removal of the "hideous" pedestrian barriers littering Queen St since the Covid pandemic required social distancing measures. The final straw was council moves to make some of the measures permanent as part of a $1.1m "makeover".

It seems it had become obvious to all except Auckland Council HQ that everyone from the business chiefs to the man in the street was heartily fed up with the continued presence of these "temporary measures".

It is not just the casual shoppers who hoped to chance a free, five-minute parking space on the street that have been put out. Couriers, delivery vehicles, Uber and taxi drivers, emergency services and vehicles for the disabled all need at least some access to the amenities on the street.

It seems bizarre a High Court memorandum had to be served on Auckland Council and Auckland Transport to prompt action. City Hall has little choice but to bend to the growing call for common sense, go back and consult properly with affected stakeholders.

Either that, or they could restore the Waihorotiu Stream - which now runs through culverts beneath Queen St - to the surface, and provide a punting service shop-to-shop.

They wouldn't, would they?