Photo is copyright to Sydney.
On the topic of Vulcan Lane, the image below was going around on twitter a few days ago showing what it used to look like before it was pedestrianised in the 1960’s. The narrow footpaths are similar to what we still see today on High St and O’Connell St.
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Oh wow. How was it they managed to pedestrianise something in the 60s? And how can High St retailers be resisting a shared space when the outcome will so obviously be an improvement?!
My grandfather was Mayor and opened Vulcan Lane – wish he were still alive so I could ask him about it as it is indeed an interesting case of pedestrianisation in the 60s.
Pedestrian malls of the 60s and 70s haven’t always worked well. Mayfair place in GI is a good candidate for the reintroduction of the internal combustion engine. A shared space format would be worth investigating.
Jeff Speck touches on the failure of pedestrian malls that were build in main streets.
I don’t think that the city centre and struggling low income suburban centres are particularly comparable.
Yes high Public Transport share, and lots of offices nearby make all the difference.
Not going to work when everyone drives to the centre.
Yeah but manners mall was so scummy they turned it into a busway.
In reality it’s not surprising that malls failed, they were built in an era where PT was in free fall from lack of investment, trams being pulled up and vast sums being put into bulldozing motorways through the city. Old suburban centers were basically dying, downtown Auckland was more or less on the way out. It probably only survived because the universities kept some life smoldering.
Context is indeed important. Just like a bike lane that ends abruptly is a nonsense, pedestrian malls make so much more sense in a network of pedestrian friendly environments. It’s quite remarkable that Vulcan Lane survived in spite of this.
My prediction is that knee-high socks will make a comeback, any year now…
+1
Good pick.
I think you need a combination of socks plus shorts to get the desired effect ;).
Yup, tight shorts terminating slightly above the knee…
Personally I’d like to see Elliot Street pedestrianised and not shared, apart from mopeds.
It is relatively unusual in an Auckland context (I think?) though Cuba Sreet dates from about this time…..
Vulcan Lane is a great example of how much better full pedestrianisation is over “shared” streets. It’s a pity, since it’s so accidental – it just happens that there are no vehicle crossings and it doesn’t link any streets you might conceivably want to drive between. There’s not a lot of good opportunities to do the same anywhere else in the city, since most streets have at least a few vehicle accesses.
Frankly, I hope that Queen Street doesn’t get renovated until after the CRL is built, because it’s one of the few streets than can also be fully pedestrianised. But it’s not likely to happen pre-CRL: even without the cars there’s too much temptation to put buses (or trams) down it. What other streets really have that option of being totally for people, not vehicles? I can only think of Darby St, and Gore St through Britomart.
High Street, O’Connel Street, Elliot Street, Darby Street, Lorne Street outside the library, Jean Batten Place, Tyler Street, Galway Street – the list goes on. There are many many streets that could be fully pedestrianised in the city and be a success.
I meant in the sense that you could fully pedestrianise it without having to do something about existing vehicle crossings, which I assume would involve at least expensive compensation if not outright purchase.
Yes, excellent, I hadn’t thought of Jean Batten (since it no longer has the police station), or High St and O’Connell, which could both be pedestrianised as far south as Chancery, and I mentioned Darby St. But even seemingly obvious candidates like Tyler Street have a few annoying driveways coming off that’re always going to get in the way. Almost any street in the CBD would be a success, in creating a more pleasant urban environment, increasing safety, and boosting business, but for a thing to succeed it has to happen.
I love Vulcan Lane but I rarely visit now. I used to enjoy sitting outside watching the world go by. Now I’m lucky if I can see the world through the fug of smoke (I exaggerate – but only slightly!).
I’m fed up with smokers coming outside to smoke and flinging their butts on the pavement. This is an offence but has anyone ever, ever, been fined for this?
It’s a recurring issue all over town where people congregate.
Hard to believe it’s the same street. High Street certainly needs this, and not just shared space, but full pedestrianization.
Best club in Auckland there as well.
Would prefer shared than full ped.
Intuitively I wonder if the streets won’t feel more “dead” if we tend to extremes in separating cars and pedestrians.
I don’t think cars make a place more lively. They make people more on edge, having to look around constantly to avoid getting hit. They also reduce the activities that can happen there, since everyone needs to be ready to move if a car driver wants to get through.
The only benefit from cars is bringing people there in the first place, which is an issue that sank a lot of pedestrian streets in the suburbs (like Onehunga) since there wasn’t a critical mass of people who could get there without driving, and if you wanted to drive, park, and walk around, you could just as well visit the shopping malls (which of course are also a totally pedestrianised environment).
This isn’t an issue in the CBD, which is already full of people, almost all of whom either walk, get PT in or drive and park in a building, and then get around on foot for the whole time they’re in town. Even if you wanted to drive three blocks, you’d probably not find a park that close to your destination anyway. There’s little reason for vehicles to be circulating except on a few main arterials.
I like shared spaces rather than full pedestrianisation.
It’s not just passenger cars, it’s taxis, couriers, drop off vans, Mobility cars, bikes, scooters, police etc that need access to a lively shopping strip.
There’s also the problem of vagrancy and delinqunicy eg drinking and drugs. This was the problem in manners mall so the council and others were happy for it to revert to a busway.
I generally agree with you Tamaki. Perhaps its since I grew up with dead pedestrian malls in California.