Auckland Central local and City Central Residents Group member Antony Phillips shares his perspective on living in town. The pandemic has caught downtown Auckland in a struggle to establish public transport, develop a residential population, stage mega-events and make compelling places. The calls for the pedestrianisation of Queen St go back at least as far as the 1926 design competition for a civic centre in upper Queen St, when the waterfront became industrialised. Wynyard Quarter competes with, rather than complements, other parts of downtown Auckland. Fundamentally, Queen St lacks the necessary winning equation of large numbers of people 24/7, along a wide path connecting to two anchors or destinations.

Source: New Zealand Herald June 28, 2022 06:42 UTC