Restoring the Golden Mile - Bus Route & Street Changes

Artist impression of lower Cuba Street from Manners Street

The Council proposes to open Manners Mall to buses and extend Cuba Mall to Wakefield Street, subject to the outcome of a special consultative procedure under the Local Government Act 1974 to revoke the pedestrian mall status of Manners Mall.

This proposal would:

improve bus services
create new public spaces
provide clearer pedestrian links with the Lambton Quay area, Civic Square and the waterfront.

The changes are designed to make bus journeys through the city faster and more reliable. They are also critical to the Ngauranga to Airport Plan agreed to in 2008, which contains projects designed to make the journey between the Ngauranga Gorge and airport faster regardless of transport method.

During public consultation in late 2008, there was a clear message that people did not want public transport improvements to erode public spaces. In response, the Council changed its original proposal so that it includes a 'shared space' with priority for pedestrians in lower Cuba Street to compensate for the loss of public space in Manners Mall if it is opened to buses.

Artist impression of Manners Mall open to buses

The new public space in lower Cuba Street will have limited vehicle access to support local businesses, including parking, but will look and feel like a mall. Vehicles will have to travel at walking speed, give way to pedestrians and could be excluded altogether for events like the Cuba Carnival.

Similar 'shared space' works well in Melbourne and a number of European cities, and Auckland is currently considering one for its central business district.

If the proposal goes ahead, the Council is also planning to create better pedestrian links and public spaces in Dixon, Wakefield and Mercer streets in the next three years. Vehicles will still use those streets, but there are opportunities for improvements as buses would no longer use them.

The Council has already agreed to:

reduce the speed limit on Manners Street and Courtenay Place from 50 km/h to 30 km/h (subject to a traffic resolution process)
remove the right-turn from Victoria Street into Manners Street west (subject to a traffic resolution process)
add traffic lights to the three pedestrian crossings in Courtenay Place.

Golden Mile

The Golden Mile runs from the bus terminus via Lambton Quay, along Willis and Manners streets to the Embassy Theatre end of Courtenay Place. Before 1979, what is now Manners Mall was a city street and buses and general traffic were able to travel through it.

Location

The changes will affect Taranaki, Dixon, Willis, Mercer, Wakefield and Manners streets.

Taranaki to Willis / Mercer Street Precinct Boundaries Map (668Kb PDF)

Public Consultation

The special consultative procedure on the pedestrian mall status of Manners Mall closed on 30 October.

Earlier Discussions and Consultation

Initial discussions with stakeholders in the area began in August 2008 and wider consultation was carried out in late 2008. The Council heard oral submissions in February 2009 and made the decision to adopt the proposals (subject to the outcome of the special consultative procedure) in June 2009.

Report to Strategy and Policy Committee - 04.06.09 - Restoring the Golden Mile (1711Kb PDF)

Appendices:

Summary of Consultation (82Kb PDF)
Residents' Reactions to Council's Proposal to Restore Wellington's Golden Mile (100Kb PDF)
Pedestrian Effects of Restoring the Golden Mile (846Kb PDF)
Opus Golden Mile Evaluation Report (2.17Mb PDF)
Cuba Street and Manners Street Parking Survey Summary (74Kb PDF)
Cuba Street and Manners Street Shade Patterns (269Kb PDF)

Artist Impressions

Manners Mall with Buses (622Kb PDF)
Lower Cuba Street and Wakefield Street (212Kb PDF)

Next Steps

The Council is expected to make a decision on the pedestrian mall status of Manners Mall in December 2009. If it is decided to open up the Mall, there is an automatic right of appeal to the Environment Court under the Local Government Act 1974.

Work on signalising the pedestrian crossings in Courtenay Place has begun and the first set of signals (outside Reading Cinema) will be in place by Christmas 2009. If the revocation of the pedestrian mall status of Manners Mall is approved by the Council, the busway through Manners Mall will be constructed in 2010 and the shared space in lower Cuba Street in 2011.

More Information

Greg Campbell
Principal Transport Planner

Phone:	(04) 803 8199
Email:	greg.campbell