City challenged to ban cars in cbd

Wellington's mayor is in favour of ridding the cbd of vehicles and creating a pedestrian mall from Lambton Quay to Courtenay Place but not yet.

The idea was suggested by property investor Sir Robert Jones in a speech to the Property Council of New Zealand, in which he challenged the mayor to do something about it.

Mayor Kerry Prendergast agreed with Sir Robert but said Wellington was too young for it to happen yet.

Sir Robert said statistics showed more than half the world's population lived in cities and it was ludicrous to have a cbd that catered for vehicles over people.

He compared the success of pedestrian-only city centres in the world to Canberra and Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. "They were designed around cars and nobody wants to live there."

Wellington's cafe culture was "crap" compared to European cities, mainly because there was a lack of pedestrian-only malls. Building tenants would love it because it would make the city more attractive and stimulate inner-city development, Sir Robert said.

Ms Prendergast was careful in her support for the idea, pointing out that many cities mentioned by Sir Robert had been around for centuries and Wellington was founded only in the 1800s. "It's one step at a time I'd love to do all these things tomorrow."

The council was "doing its best" to make life pleasant for pedestrians, with a lowered speed limit in Lambton Quay and a proposal for a 30kmh limit in Courtenay Place.

Any moves toward an extensive pedestrian precinct would have to take into account the rest of the city, such as the side streets to Lambton Quay and how they would be affected, Ms Prendergast said.

Support for pedestrian malls was illustrated by the backlash against a proposed bus lane through Manners Mall, but there were many Wellingtonians who were against banning vehicles from the main CBD streets, she said. Such a scheme would need the support of a wide range of people.

Property Council Wellington chairman Chris Gollins said the proposal was sensible and would make it easier to walk around the city. Public transport would be more efficient if routed through hubs that people could walk to.

He believed property owners and retailers would support the idea, but department store Kirkcaldie & Stains managing director John Milford was unconvinced.

Removing car access to Lambton Quay would cause problems in side streets and have ramifications for retailers, he said.

Shoppers wanted to drive close to their destinations, and if they could not, would go to Porirua or Lower Hutt where car parks were under cover and free. "I would have great difficulty with anything stopping my customers getting to me."

SIR BOB'S PEDESTRIAN MALL

- Make the Lambton Quay to Courtenay Place route pedestrian-only.

- Put a skating rink in Courtenay Place.

- Commercial kiosks in the middle of the mall would earn the city council revenue.

- Reroute buses around the mall.

- Allow restricted access to delivery vehicles.

- © Fairfax NZ News