Stuff Digital Edition

Boom or bust for carless shopping?

Debrin Foxcroft debrin.foxcroft@stuff.co.nz

Wellington City Council’s plan to pedestrianise the ‘‘golden mile’’ has been met with disappointment from retailers who say they are still recovering from the impact of Covid-19.

Retail NZ chief executive Greg Harford said the announcement private vehicles would be banned from main thoroughfares in central Wellington was disappointing news for struggling retailers. ‘‘The proposal will make it harder for customers to travel into and around the central business district by car, and will likely further damage retail businesses in the CBD,’’ he said.

But international research shows pedestrian focused shopping areas can benefit retailers, if done right.

In 2018, Just Economics in Britain examined the impact of pedestrianisation on city centres around the world.

It found investing in better streets and spaces for walking could provide a competitive return compared with other transport projects. Retail also benefited from car-free streets, with some shops reporting up to a 30 per cent increase in foot traffic when cars were removed.

However, it was not enough to just take cars away. Councils need to invest in public transport and cycling infrastructure to compensate, the study found.

Auckland University urban planning expert Dr Lee Beattie said the key challenge facing any plan to pedestrianise a retail area was people density.

‘‘If you are going to replace the energy of these high streets, you have to ask how you are going to get people into these kinds of places,’’ Beattie said. New Zealand retail centres had a mixed experience with pedestrianisation efforts.

Onehunga Mall in Auckland was a good example where pedestrianisation did not work, he said. ‘‘There was not the density to support that and the nature of

that high street is just so long that it did not work,’’ Beattie said.

‘‘So yes, conceptually, it is a really good idea but then you have to ask, does it have the density and the catchment to make this sort of thing work?’’

But Auckland’s city centre was a good example of where pedestrianisation could work, Beattie said. Thirty years ago, there was little after work foot traffic and it was a dangerous place for people to be after hours. However, more people now lived in the city centre, which meant there was a community being built in and around the main streets, he said.

Wellington’s urban planners would need to consider how the development would cultivate energy for retailers, he said. Planners also needed to ensure pedestrianised areas were accessible to everyone, Beattie said.

Director of Reset Urban Design Garth Falconer said the future of downtown areas would be based on stimulating, comfortable and safe environments.

Residential options in the city centre were important, as well as events and safety, so people could go out at night, Falconer said. ‘‘Pedestrianisation has had a chequered history but over the past few decades it has become more sophisticated.’’ The most successful efforts focused on socialisation and the need for people to be with other people.’’

The Wellington revamp is part of the $6.4 billion Let’s Get Wellington Moving programme, a joint venture between Wellington’s city and regional councils and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, to overhaul Wellington’s transport network and alleviate the gridlock in and around the capital.

Three options to redevelop the city centre were debated during a consultation process last year. Most of the 2000 Wellingtonians surveyed backed the most radical ‘‘transform’’ option.

The revamp, which will cost between $52 million and $79m, will close the roads to private vehicles and 100-200 parking spaces will be removed.

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2021-06-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-06-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/281573768649391

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