INDEPENDENT NEWS

Quay Street upgrade to begin in June

Published: Wed 11 Feb 2004 04:29 PM
MEDIA RELEASE
11 February 2004
Quay Street upgrade to begin in June
Today’s Recreation and Events Committee approved the final concept designs for Quay Street and gave the go ahead for work to begin in June.
Chairperson of Auckland City’s Recreation and Events Committee, Councillor Scott Milne, says the $5 million street upgrade will transform Quay Street into an attractive, high quality, people friendly public space.
The main features of the design are:
- installing improved lighting to enhance the view of the water from the city and vice versa
- providing increased pedestrian priority at intersections where possible, especially the Queen and Quay Street intersection
- reducing the traffic lane widths to 3.0 and 3.2 metres to allow the footpaths to be widened on the north side of Quay Street. The number of traffic lanes cannot be reduced until there is an alternative motorway link between the North Shore and Quay Street/Tamaki Drive
- the future provision of some form of passenger transport, possibly a tram, across an ‘art’ bridge to connect the Western Reclamation with Britomart via the Eastern Viaduct and future Arena site
- the addition of more street furniture and landscaping
- planting about 70 new native trees on both sides of the street
- placing a sculpture or artworks at Point Britomart to mark the entry into the area where the central business district meets the waterfront
- relocating KZ1 to free up the main entrance of the Viaduct for events and parking
- incorporating a median island, to prevent u-turns, from Lower Hobson Street along Quay Street
Traffic and pedestrian movements were the main issues identified by property owners and Quay Street users during the consultation process.
Mr Milne says the new central motorway junction which is already underway and future Harbour Bridge to city link and Grafton Gully extension will provide alternative east/west routes to Quay Street and hence help ease traffic congestion.
“The function of all roads in the CBD have recently been considered and documented in the draft Central Area Access Strategy. Within this strategy is the proposal to downgrade Quay Street between Tinley Street and Lower Hobson Street from a regional arterial road to a Greenway Distributor or road where priority is given to pedestrians, cyclists and public transport,” he says.
The project covers both sides of Quay Street from the proposed Arena site in the east to Te Wero Island in the west.
The upgrade is part of Auckland City’s draft Auckland CBD Into the future strategy to revitalise Auckland’s central business district (CBD) into one of the world’s most vibrant and dynamic business and cultural centres.
The designers are Architectus Bowes Clifford Thomson Limited.
Ends

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