Quietly, over the last six years, Willis Bond & Co has been building a new neighbourhood of award-winning apartments at Wynyard Quarter. Private investment has followed the public spend to create people-orientated spaces designed for modern urban living. This “placemaking” includes wide footpaths, new plazas and parks, rain gardens, activated event spaces and lush ngahere.
I was fortunate to attend a recent celebration hosted by their Managing Director Mark McGuiness to welcome the new residents and thank those involved in the development. Inevitably, the conversation turned to Auckland’s prolific orange road cones.
Orange cones have become a convenient focus of rage for some commentators in Auckland.
In Mark’s view, the cones are a positive symbol that the city is getting stuff done. They show that progress is underway, and the city is improving after decades of under-investment, poor planning and short-sighted decision making. I think of it as Auckland moving from a town with a cowboy mentality focused on short-term gains, to Tāmaki Makaurau, a truly international city with a uniquely indigenous point of difference.
Auckland Council is making progress on the things that matter for our city.
We’re working to stop poo from entering our harbour and we’re getting on with essential work like improving our ferry infrastructure and ensuring the Quay Street sea wall doesn’t collapse. We’re delivering new public spaces and creating the right conditions for new residential, retail and office investment. I don’t think it makes sense for any of this construction to be slowed down or stopped.
When the cones are removed from Quay Street a stunning street will be revealed; one that will never go back to a four-lane road. Just as other international cities have embraced their waterfront, Quay Street, together with a new downtown square, will be our welcome mat for a plethora of international events happening in 2021. Slow speed, pedestrian-focused environments will become the new normal in our city centre.
It is time for Aucklanders to move on from the myths that “public transport is rubbish” and “no one uses cyclelanes”. All the evidence (that could fill a separate column) points to the opposite conclusion.
We are no different to people in other international cities. We embrace the most convenient, reliable and affordable transport option. We jump on bikes when we feel safe. We shop, relax, linger and spend in inviting places where people – not cars - are king. Wynyard Quarter was the “guinea pig” for perfecting placemaking in Auckland, but this best practice approach is now spreading benefits across the city.
It is also time to drop “CBD” and instead refer to it as the city centre as it has a growing residential population, with more than 33,000 people already calling it home.
The work symbolised by the humble orange cone work will benefit not just the residents I represent, but all Aucklanders, because a functioning, thriving city centre is good news for our region and our country.
Our city centre generates a fifth of Auckland’s GDP and over 130,000 people work there. Our biggest infrastructure project, City Rail Link, will double the number of people who live within 30 minutes of the city centre when it opens in 2024.
Along with our construction partners, we have to do more as a council to share the vision of what is happening in the city centre so Aucklanders can see the wider benefits. We need to ensure traffic management is exemplary, projects are coordinated and efficiently managed, and that businesses and residents are looked after through the construction. We must help all those who need to travel into the city regardless of transport mode.
Collectively as Aucklanders, we’ve got to put the orange cone “chaos” into perspective. When I recently missed an early morning flight it wasn’t cycleway construction that delayed me getting to the airport. It was the traffic I created, other traffic on the road, and a minor crash. These types of delays are so commonplace Aucklanders consider this a “normal” inconvenience.
I agree with Mark that we shouldn’t turn orange road cones into the enemy. When the first stage of Wynyard Quarter opened in August 2011, Aucklanders were amazed at the welcoming transformation and flocked to the waterfront. As parts of Downtown are completed and pedestrians are welcomed back, I have no doubt that we’ll get the same reaction.
Delivering people-friendly, safe and vibrant environments continues not just in Downtown but across the city. We can all feel proud at the stuff that is getting done. The future is in progress.
