Wynyard Quarter Attracts & Detracts

Talk about people places.... Take a bow Auckland.... Take a bow Auckland Regional Council, Auckland City Council, and Sea + City. You take credit for the years of decisions, allocations, and planning that underpin the public legacy we can all enjoy at Wynyard Quarter.

The place attracts and caters for young people. Youth who might only be seen on the waterfront for an event at the Vector Arena. Wynyard Quarter attracts Auckland's youth. The tip of the iceberg of the latent demand that exists in the resident population of 1.4 million people for a public place like this.

They share the playground with kids of all ages. A place to hang out. In the public eye. Informal surveillance. Safe. This photo was taken from the gantry view platform. Inspired I guess. Everybody wants an elevated view of places that attract people. Great for photos and for perspective.

This Chinese delegation from Xinjiang enjoyed their visit. This informal - but somehow formal - seating is inspired. And as the trees grow providing welcome shade across this area, it will attract those who want to sit and watch the world go by. The piano was regularly used...

The WindTree scultpture provided the backdrop for any number of photos, as did the trams looping the Wynyard Loop.

The choice of food and eatery is extensive, from a pot of chips at Sanfords to more exotic fare. Spoiled for choice. Great to have a waterfront place that does not feel like lager alley. Feels safe. Good family fare. Everybody's here (the public toilets are still unfinished though. Very important for young and old. Key to success. Just having one in the container sculpture may not meet requirements...)

Swing from food to walk to swing.

Then there are the fishing boats and the sea gulls. These are the places to sit, take photos, have a snack, and generally chill out. But wait. Something's not quite right. Pan a bit right....

What are all these cars doing here? Not a parking warden in sight. Certainly no sign saying no parking. And none permitting it. More than a few students have remarked to me about the way car parking is already damaging the public experience on Wynyard Quarter. The better the day - the more the informal car-parking is damaging the experience....

The great pictures are cluttered by cars. Sure this is a working waterfront. On my way here, as I biked to and from the ferry, I couldn't help but notice the security guards: "please get off your bike sir..." And of course I did. So where are they when you really need them? Where's one asking, "no parking here sir - unless you need to unload for a fishing boat..." Or something like that.

The wonderful Heritage Net Shed frontage was also stacked with cars. For ages. No evidence of loading or unloading. Someone told me that everyone's being a bit relaxed while things get going. Not a good idea. Bad parking habits get locked in very quickly. The planning for this place was that around - only - 10% of all trips in and out would be by car. The rest by other means. The great design as at risk of being compromised by those in charge of implementation. That's Auckland Council. You need to fix this now.

And here's another place where cars park all day. Unticketed. This is a great public space, an open space, a place for walking and informal being. Not a place for cars. Move them on. Put a couple of security guards here.

They might look cute in the garage, and they might be safe parked here, close to work, so I can keep a watch, and not walk too far. This is the sort of attitude that has completely buggered Princes Wharf for the public. These parking patterns must be nipped in the bud. This is a shared space. But it's not a space that needs to be shared with parked cars. That was never part of the plan.

These are mostly contractor vehicles. This is the argument that will be made in support of car-parking. The thin end of the wedge. In fact we all know that Wynyard Quarter will be a building site for at least a decade. At the same time it will be a fishing port. And a people's place. Parking - for visitors, contractors, and workers alike - must be robustly controlled. Look in the top left of this picture for example. Empty space. How about a bit of parking space there for contractor vehicles? Get this sorted Auckland Council. Don't wait till after RWC. I don't want to end on a sour note. Wynyard Quarter is off to a great and popular start. We can be proud of this achievement. So here's a challenge for the new Auckland Council and its new Waterfront Development Agency. I challenge you to do the same - or better - on Queens Wharf. That will be your waterfront legacy.

Parking Policy and Development in Japan

Was interested to read in NZ Herald last week about the debate in Auckland Council over provision of car parking buildings in CBD areas - notably Auckland CBD and Manukau CBD. Liked the comment from Cllr Mike Lee that he supported car parking that supported public transport, but not parking that competed with public transport. Good line. But what does it mean? These are a few slides from a presentation about parking in Japan.

Parking policy interested me when I was in Japan a few weeks ago, and I blogged about it upon my return: Japan approach to TOD and POD thinking... and Travel demand management: Malaysia Vs Japan. I liked this presentation from a Japan-based look at parking. Useful approach....

The presentation appears to be about an investigation into Japan's downtown parking policies. Interesting to see the upfront "disconnect" between parking management and downtown revitalisation. In my experience this "connect" between downtown economic activity, and the provision of car-parking in New Zealand towns and cities is unquestioned and unchallenged....

These two slides outline the present policy in Japan - which the writer would like to see changed. (He wants to see more public provision of car-parking). Car-parking is NOT provided by the public sector in Japan. It is almost all private. You MUST HAVE your own off street park at home, and elsewhere it MUST be provided by the shop you visit or presumably the place where you work.

And this is where it gets very interesting. Public provision of information about the availability of parking does occur, and private businesses are not discouraged from providing parking for shoppers to its businesses. But I emphasise here the fact that streets are NOT for parking... This last point (7) is of consdierable interest and relevance for Auckland...

It appears that from 2000 there was an "environmental assessment law" introduced for the location of large scale retail stores in "local suburban and rural areas" (read: Albany, Westgate, etc). Which "resulted in a severe economic and cultural decline in downtown". Interesting. Then in 2006 this law was amended prohibiting location of stores of >10,000 square metres in non-commercial districts and in rural areas. I appreciate that the zoning of Albany and suchlike permitted the location of large scale retail stores there. Pack and Save in Wairau Valley is interesting. We are good at permitting large scale retail away from our more mature and developed centres across Auckland Region. And we know - anecdotally - that it rips the guts out of existing centres. Cultural decline. Wonder what the RMA would say about that effect?

Princes Wharf's Fall from Grace...

Just look at this. Here's how Princes Wharf - the street down the middle - looked in 1928, when this photo was taken. Looking west from the end of the wharf, you can see the buildings in downtown Auckland CBD. Lots of opportunity for heritage adaptation you'd think....

And what about this? Here's HMS Hood (remember "Sink the Bismark"). She came to visit in 1924, shortly after Princes Wharf was built. What a visit that must've been...


tAnd here's what we have now. Hilton Hotel. According to CityCentralMagazine, this, and a bunch of apartments, was developed by David Henderson, Kitchener Group for $200 million. This magazine notes: "when the America's Cup put New Zealand on the map investors in these apartments doubled their income..." It's only been about money. And as you can see in this picture - regulation is useless. Cars park where they should not with careless regard...

Just in case you missed them in the picture above, here's a closer picture. These vehicles are not supposed to park here, but they do anyway. Maybe wwe could arrange for the ghost of HMS Hood to come and blow them off the wharf... you wish...