The City Centre Masterplan refresh is up for consultation, closing Friday 18 October, and we encourage you to add your voice.
For context, check out our blog post on the history of this plan, and what’s been achieved so far, especially in terms of making the central city better for people on bikes.
Below, you’ll find our feedback on the current refresh. Feel free to use it as a guideline for your own feedback! You can see all the official consultation info here, and use the button below to go straight to the feedback form.
Feedback closes Friday 18 October!
Bike AKL feedback on the City Centre Masterplan refresh 2019
Overall, do you support the general direction of the City Centre Masterplan refresh?
Yes. We think that the refreshed vision will help make the City Centre a greater place to live in, work in or visit – and make it easier to travel to it by bike and on foot and on public transport. We particularly support active-mode and public transport outcomes and strategic moves, and the Access 4 Everyone proposals.
The City Centre Masterplan’s vision is to build a city centre for people. We’ve identified 10 outcomes that describe how we can achieve this vision for Auckland’s future.
Do you think these outcomes are important for Auckland’s future?
[Here, we recommend ticking YES for all items. In particular, items 2: “Accessible City Centre” and 9: “Sustainable City Centre” will be key to great transport outcomes, including for people on bikes.
You can also add comments here if you feel a particular outcome is missing.]
The City Centre Masterplan refresh includes eight transformational moves. Each of these corresponds to a different part of the city centre and contains concepts for future development.
Do you support the direction and concepts in these transformational moves?
Transformational Move 1: Maori outcomes
Bike Auckland feels positive about these suggestions, but as a transport-focused group, we don’t feel it is our remit to comment on the individual proposals made here.
Transformational Move 2: East and West Stitch
Bike Auckland is hugely supportive of ALL proposed actions here. But we are particularly supportive of progressing the linear park (and bikeway) connections along Victoria Street, improved busway (and bikeway!) infrastructure along the Fanshaw Street and Customs / Beach Road route, and we strongly support the Stanley Street / The Strand “multi-way boulevard” which would separate heavy ports traffic from local traffic, including on bikes, along this route. We would also love to see the Albert Park tunnel route opened for people on foot and on bikes, and are hugely supportive of reducing car dominance and vehicle speeds on streets in the western part of the City Centre such as Nelson / Hobson and Cook Street.
Transformational Move 3: Waihorotiu Queen Street Valley
Again, there’s lots to love in these plans – we in particular support it becoming the core of the “Access 4 Everyone” concept, where car-traffic across the core is prohibited, opening up space for other modes. We also support the associated Low Emissions Zone and Light Rail plans down Queen Street, to improve the currently bad air quality and provide a great new public transport option.
Transformational Move 4: Innovation Cradle
Bike Auckland feels positive about these suggestions, but as a transport-focused group, we don’t feel it is our remit to comment on the individual proposals made here – except that we support the proposal to strengthen connections to and around the Learning Quarter, especially where they include better walking and cycling.
Transformational Move 5: Rapid Transport Supported Growth
We support the concept of “nodes” where key bus, light rail and rail routes come together in the City Centre, and de-emphasising vehicle traffic around them. As an additional focus not really mentioned here, we see the need for better cycle/scooter access to these nodes – using dedicated routes wherever possible, to ensure that growth in wheeled micro-mobility and cycling doesn’t clash with increased pedestrian traffic, but instead can support public transport.
Transformational Move 6: Green Link
We support all the proposals in this move, particularly the west-east linear park along Victoria Street, and improved links across Grafton Gully. We also would like to see the existing waterfront paths strengthened, in light of new bikeways that are coming (SkyPath and Tamaki Drive upgrades). We encourage these improved City Centre links to provide separate space for cycling/scooter users, as shared path designs are a bad outcome for all groups, and are a particular accessibility issue for many walkers.
Transformational Move 7: City to the Villages
We strongly support the proposals to make “orbital” active transport around the edges of the City Centre – and to and from the “villages” around it – safer and more pleasant. We particularly support proposals to improve more gateways and bridges into the City Centre by de-tuning motor vehicle transport (as has already happened on Upper Queen Street bridge), and proceeding with other access plans such as the Waipapa Greenway plan (old Parnell rail tunnel opening for walking and cycling from Newmarket to the City Centre).
Transformational Move 8: Waterfront and Harbour Edge Stitch
We support the plans for better connections along the harbour edge. Our key wish here is to ensure that a desire for a more pedestrian-friendly environment does not lead to an environment that badly serves everyone by forcing people on scooters or bikes to mix with crowds – or encourages people on bikes and scooters to avoid the area. Once motor vehicle dominance is reduced, the harbour edge has enough space to provide at least one main, separated cycle/scooter route!
The City Centre Masterplan refresh includes the Access for Everyone proposal.
Access for Everyone is a new idea to create more space for people in our city centre. It is designed to help people move freely and safely by walking, cycling and using public transport, while improving access for servicing and deliveries and preserving access for drivers. It aims to free up public space and accommodate future changes to the city centre.
[NB: The plan essentially proposes to separate the City Centre into around nine different neighbourhood zones, to which motor vehicles only have access from *outside* the City Centre. Drivers would not be able to drive across the City Centre between the separated zones, while people on foot, bike or public transport would easily travel between them. This would discourage unnecessary vehicle traffic, free up space for non-car improvements, and help reduce traffic speeds.]
Do you support the direction and concepts in the Access for Everyone proposal?
Yes
We strongly support the concept, and would like to see it implemented fast – including via pilot projects that don’t have to go through years of preparation and consultation delays.
Is there anything else you think the City Centre Masterplan should include?
It needs clear targets to measure success over time, particularly related to air quality and transport mode share.
Do you have any other comments?
[Here, you can add anything else you think Council (or Bike Auckland) missed saying.]
