Improvements to Auckland's Queen St: What the readers say

Readers give their views on improvements to Auckland's Queen St.


The influx of vehicles is the biggest problem facing Queen St.

Make it illegal for vehicles without a permit sticker to travel on Queen St.

There are far too many vehicles just cruising. It is still possible to travel around Queen St using the cross roads and parallel roads.

Grant Schultz

* * *

Queen St needs public toilets. It is very difficult to find a clean public toilet while in town.

I also think that the footpaths need to be wider with less clutter.

Cheap or free night-time entertainment would also be good as it would bring more students and tourists into the heart of the city and give it more character.

Lisa Coulam

* * *

Well, hey, I say just leave Queen St as it is. It's a great Auckland showcase: boy-racers; cheap souvenir shops selling Taiwanese goods; patient pedestrians waiting to cross streams of traffic; buses with low (no) technology diesel motors bathing us all in soot.

I lived in Mexico City for five years and when I came to live in Auckland two years ago I pretty much got off the plane and into Queen St - and I wanted to go back to Mexico straight away, in spite of its chaos and pollution. At least they were trying, with desperate shortage of money, to start to change things.

Anyway, some suggestions: why don't they completely eliminate private traffic on Queen St and put in trams going to the new Britomart Station and to the motorway limits, and wow, even a line over the Harbour Bridge on each edge (for the best views). We would actually end up with a civilised city centre, with clean air and easy walking, instead of the primitive way things are now.

Mark West

* * *

Why not block off the entire street, or certain blocks, and pave it over. Fountains, cafes, restaurants, plants, stalls etc can then flow over the entire ex-road.

It would prevent traffic using Queen St as a main thoroughfare, and hopefully reduce traffic coming into the CBD. I don't know why they haven't done it sooner.

Sam Hawken

* * *

One of the simplest ways to enliven Queen St is to encourage people to come into the centre of the city by making carparking cheaper and more accessible.

Like it or not, Aucklanders are wedded to their cars, and they will only come into the centre if they can get convenient, cheap parking.

Another way is to encourage extensive retail tenancies in the ground floors of office buildings.

Martin Spencer

* * *

How about making part of Queen St, say downhill from Wellesley St, for pedestrians only? This works well in Sydney's Pitt St, where a pedestrian mall gives shoppers and tourists a welcome break from the traffic.

May Trubuhovich, Sydney

* * *

An idea to improve Queen St is to make it a pedestrian mall and close the road completely to all traffic, perhaps with a non-intrusive tram line connecting Britomart to upper Queen St.

This will eliminate air pollution, boy-racers and congestion. It will give people a leisurely shopping experience that will benefit the retailers, and cafes can be established with outside tables.

Pedestrian police and security staff can ensure safety.

Linda Crosby

* * *

Close it off to through traffic (except courier bicycles and emergency services), cobble the road to give it a more pedestrian-safe feel, and install a couple of free trams running from QE2 Square up to K'Rd and back.

Make it the attractive hub of Auckland it is supposed to be.

Mike Crooks

* * *

Buses and large trucks should be rerouted out of Queen St from Customs St up to Mayoral Drive. Their noise and pollution are too oppressive between tall buildings.

Planting is crucial. The current trees, for instance, are ugly and there is no overall theme to the design.

The street furniture is oppressive and adds to the concrete jungle feel.

The council should enforce acceptable signage. Some of the existing signage makes the city look cheap.

Angus Ogilvie

* * *

Some air bridges across Queen St, joining shops, arcades on either side of the road at the 2nd/3rd level.

These bridges could be used as art galleries or cafes, like the Downtown Shopping Centre used to be. Ultimately, the bridges could be used as supports for an overhead monorail, as per Sydney.

Kit Hickey

What now?

* After consultation with interested parties, the Auckland City Council's CBD project team will work on two or three concepts, due to be completed by December. The public will then be given its say on the ideas.