Auckland Council has given plans to pedestrianise Queen Street the green light.
“Making Queen Street and adjoining streets a pedestrian and public transport zone underpins our desire to put people at the heart of our city centre and waterfront transformation. It is what a world-class city would do. As Mayor of Auckland, it is what I want to do,” said Phil Goff, Auckland City Mayor.
With numerous hotels opening in downtown Auckland over the next few years, increased accessibility for pedestrians could only be a benefit for hotels in the area.
On top of that, hotels on Queen Street and in neighbouring streets would be set to get curious locals coming through to visit. Attracting locals to dining and lounging spaces is becoming an increasingly key focus at modern hotels. The newly opened SO/ Auckland on Customs Street, for instance, explicitly targets locals at its Hi-SO rooftop bar and Harbour Society restaurant.
If more pedestrians are coming through the CBD, and inner-city workers and students are enticed to socialise and use Queen Street as more than just a pathway, there is more likelihood that hotels will be able to attract these new customers into their facilities.
“The nature of our city centre is changing. There are over 118,000 people working in the central city and 70,000 students and teachers. Hotel blocks are soaring bringing increasing numbers of tourists. Light rail and the City Rail Link will increase public transport capacity by 370 percent and bring thousands more pedestrians into the city centre,” said Goff.
“The idea has strong support from Heart of the City, the City Centre Residents Group and the Waitemata Local Board. The next stage is to communicate with and listen to all of the stakeholders including residents, businesses and hotels to see how best to proceed."
Auckland Council’s Planning Committee has requested trials of the ‘Open Streets’, where a section of Queen Street would be closed off just for pedestrians.
