Street Smart: Did you know?

There are about 1800 public roads in Wellington, which combined stretch for 700 kilometres. 

The first alphabetically is Abbot Street, in the suburb of Ngaio. The last is Zohrab Street, in Hataitai. (There are two other Wellington streets that start with a ‘Z’. Can you name them? Answers at the bottom of this page.) 

As well as the public roads, there are about 200 private right-of-ways, although some will be areas that the public are allowed to use but are not legal roads. We’ve compiled a list of fun facts about our streets, from the longest and shortest, to the newest, busiest and highest. 

Enjoy! 

WIDEST
Wellington’s widest street is Taranaki Street between Wakefield Street and Lukes Lane. The formed carriageway is 24m wide.

NARROWEST
At the other end of the scale is Randolph Road in Crofton Downs, with a formed carriageway measuring 5.5m wide. 

BUSIEST
Wellington’s busiest street for foot traffic is Lambton Quay, specifically the section between Waring Taylor Street and Johnston Street. It sees 3358 people per hour at midday. For vehicle traffic, Aotea Quay between Waterloo Quay and the Motorway is the busiest, with an average daily traffic of 33,200.

LONGEST 
In terms of rural roads, Makara Rd is the longest at 10.9km. For urban, the accolade goes to Evans Bay Parade at 4.3km long.

SHORTEST  
At a very short 27m, Brook Street in Thorndon is Wellington’s shortest street. In fact, it’s so short, it doesn’t even feature on Google Maps. Outrageous!

HIGHEST
The capital’s highest street is Jaunpur Crescent in Broadmeadows. It reaches 301m at street level, making it more than 100m higher than the lookout on the summit of Mt Victoria.

NEWEST
We have a few contenders for the capital’s newest street. For public roads, there is Glenugie Grove, Ngahere Grove, Titiwai Grove - all part of a new subdivision in Glenside, south of Tawa. There is also Pine Hill Rise and Te Kāhu Road. The newest private right-of-ways are off Cottonwood Lane in Woodridge, and are called Ara Kanuka, Ara Kawakawa, and Ara Toetoe.

NORTHERN MOST
What’s the Wellington street that’s closest to the North Pole? It’s right at the intersection of Bell and Tremewan Streets, Linden. Coordinates for Googling are as follows: 41°09'00.3"S 174°50'20.3"E

SOUTHERN MOST
To the south, it’s Owhiro Bay Road which is the closest Wellington street to the South Pole. (41°20'55.1"S 174°45'05.0"E)  

WESTERN MOST
Wellington’s westerly street is South Makara Road (41°18'28.9"S 174°42'26.4"E), which is just further west than Makara Road at Makara Beach (41°13'11.8"S 174°42'46.3"E). 

EASTERN MOST
This one is more unexpected. In fact, it may just blow your minds. Wellington’s eastern-most street is not in Seatoun or anywhere else in that neck of the woods. It’s actually the top end of Takapu Road, in the Takapu Valley. Yes, really. (41°09'22.4"S 174°52'16.0"E)

ANSWER: The two other ‘Z’ streets are Zande Terrace in Tawa, and Zetland Street in Highbury. If you knew that, you’re zuper zmart. 

Enjoy this story? Wellington City Council looks after more than 700km of streets across the capital, and each one has its own unique tale. Check out our full Street Smart story collection on Our Wellington.