Urban design champion caught parking illegally

Ludo Campbell-Reid was caught parking on yellow lines. Photo / Supplied

The Auckland urban design champion who has made it his mission to make the city's roads more pedestrian friendly has been caught parking his private Audi sports car on a yellow line in Devonport.

Ludo Campbell-Reid today said he was in the wrong for parking on a yellow line on King Edward Parade near the entrance to the Navy Museum.

He said he was there in a personal capacity yesterday to pick up his children and a few of their friends at the weekly Jets Run around Devonport.

"My wife usually picks up but she was in bed sick so I got the call to pick them up after 6.30pm once prize giving had finished. I was certainly in the wrong," Mr Campbell-Reid said.

An anonymous man, who photographed Mr Campbell-Reid's car parked on a yellow line and saw him leave about 30 minutes later, said there were a lot of legal and empty car spaces about 100m further back along the road.

"Clearly he doesn't think the design of roads applies to him. The irony is that about 50 children had to run past him along the road and his vehicle was blocking their view of driveways as they entered the Navy Museum to finish their event," the man said.

Mr Campbell-Reid is credited with taking steps to reduce the number of vehicles in the central city, including the idea of cars and pedestrians sharing the same space.

Mayor Len Brown's chaffeur-driven car was photographed parked in a loading bay in Newmarket in August. Weeks earlier he parked the mayoral car across a cycle lane in Newmarket.