Comments on: Bob Jones on Wellington Golden Mile

By: charlotte

charlotte — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 05:21:42 +0000

John Milford makes some good points on this issue in http://www.stuff.co.nz/blogs/opinion/3083162/Golden-Mile-risks-being-tarnished-if-plans-go-awry

His following comment highlights a particularly damaging consequence that Sir Bob’s proposal could have on our city:

“If access becomes too difficult, customers will cease visiting the CBD and will do all their shopping in the city’s suburban malls.”

This would be disastrous for the atmosphere of Wellington!

By: NeillR

NeillR — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:12:24 +0000

I was down there on Monday and was bored and completely underwhelmed. The place smells of government and appears to only exist to give the otherwise unemployable a job. And what’s with the million and one “outdoors” shops? Obviously if you don’t get one with nature you don’t get invited to the right parties (take that how you want).

Te Papa – tell me that’s just a nightmare and i’ll wake up soon? I got through about three floors (ok the giant squid was ok, and i was quite impressed by the rocks taken from the four corners of the country) but the rest of it was yet another lame Gen-X/Y “style over substance” disaster. Bring back the Star Trek exhibit!

You can’t beat Wellington on a good day, but the rest of the country beats it every day.

By: expat

expat — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:19:55 +0000

Bob is likely to be running interference, as he has done in the past, in the politiking, now thats not to say he hasn’t got some good ideas however if he is planning “to put a rack of bikes every hundred metres that people can use for free. They do this in Paris, I’m told. Get a few pinched, but overall it’s been a great success.”

then he is wrong, wrong, wrong, massive failure, most of the bikes are nicked or vandalised and cost an arm and a leg to replace as in about 1500 euros each from memory.

Love the idea of getting rid of the slalom of buses running through central Wellington though

By: cubit

cubit — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:22:57 +0000

The prescence of the buses is not the problem per se. It is the behaviour ofr the bus drivers. The existence of a 30kph limit is approprite on the narrow route down the quay. However it is completely unenforced for buses. The drivers are surly arrogant repressed Jensen Buttons.

We need buses but we need better driving attitudes from the drivers. A few tickets would get their attention.

By: vibenna

vibenna — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:40:05 +0000

The bike problem is solved by having to insert a credit card in a slot to release the bike, and then having the first 30 minutes free with a modest charge thereafter. You can see this system working in France http://wikitravel.org/en/Nantes#Get_around

By: PaulD

PaulD — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:16:06 +0000

@brucehoult 3.38 The bus users wouldn’t be as inconvenienced as all the other traffic that normally uses Featherston St through to Victoria St. Bob may think buses are abrasive, the Melbourne trams have even less charm when it comes to running down pedestrians.

By: jarbury

jarbury — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:41:02 +0000

Meanwhile in Auckland, our main street is a 4-lane highway that doesn’t even have bus lanes on it!

Now imagine if a prospective Super Mayor of Auckland was to advocate for pedestrianising Queen Street between the Town Hall and Customs Street….

…. now there’s an idea.

By: reid

reid — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:17:17 +0000

“Wellington should fare better though”

Until the people from Porirua work out they can pay for a bus ticket and get a free bike worth a few hundred bucks. Phoo man, that’s really cool, eh.

By: John Ansell

John Ansell — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:12:24 +0000

He’s budgeted for free trams, and to put a rack of bikes every hundred metres that people can use for free.

They do this in Paris, I’m told. Get a few pinched, but overall it’s been a great success.

(Having said that, they tried the same thing in Porirua and from memory they were just about all pinched. Wellington should fare better though.)

By: Johnboy

Johnboy — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:51:57 +0000

It will all be academic after the force eight is over!

By: charlotte

charlotte — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:42:18 +0000

Personally I think Sir Bob sounds a tad defensive. Read the article that he is responding to (at http://www.wellingtonchamber.co.nz/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=xBwSPwkeQeQ%3d&tabid=36 ).

It basically just highlights some of the potential negative effects that Sir Bob’s proposal could have on our city. It doesn’t say he is necessarily wrong, just that there should be careful consideration before any decisions are made.

By: sean14

sean14 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:29:56 +0000

I think it’s a great idea, go Bob!

By: brucehoult

brucehoult — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:38:31 +0000

Would people who use buses be seriously inconvenienced if they ran down Featherston St instead of Lambton Quay? It’s hard to imagine that it would be a huge imposition on them.

By: Philonz

Philonz — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:34:11 +0000

If he pledged to get rid of bussess and cars and run a tram line through town then he;d get my vote.

By: labrator

labrator — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:31:01 +0000

@RRM Hubbard blew $60 Million dollars repaving the footpath with a very expensive dull grey stone. He left Queen st 4 lanes of buses and ran the expensive paving all the way up to the top of the hill for no good reason. He had cost overruns of $30 Million from the estimate and stopped each business on the main road opening for atleast 2 weeks each. Go there now and it’s not a pedestrian friendly place at all, it’s still all cars and carparks and it doesn’t look much better than it did. If he’d pedestrianised Victoria to Britomart and ran the buses up Albert and Symonds and got rid of a lot of traffic lights he’d probably still be mayor.

By: peterwn

peterwn — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:20:48 +0000

Yes, the idea is great for those who do not use the buses. And if the Council kicks the buses out and tightens the noose further around parking people will vote with their feet to Queensgate etc.

It is all very OK for Bob who no doubt has a 24 hour parking spot in the CBD, not to mention City Councillors who AFAIK also have free 24 hour parking slots under Civic Square.

By: malcolm

malcolm — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:11:02 +0000

It’s lovely today. Swimmers at Oriental Parade, cricket in the Basin Reserve.

By: big bruv

big bruv — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:48:45 +0000

What is the obsession with out door cafes in Wellington, the wind never stops blowing, who the fuck wants to sit outside in a gale?

By: Peter

Peter — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:45:39 +0000

Got my vote.

By: RRM

RRM — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:40:45 +0000

Interesting that Sir Bob has so much support here for this – given that Hubbard was vilified for his beautification and pedestrian-friendlifying of Queen Street and the surrounding Auckland CBD.

Plan sounds excellent, Lambton end of town is dead at weekends and it is such a waste.

Big old BS to his comments about buses though. Sir Bob may not rely on the buses to get him to work in the mornings, but many thousands of people do, and this is more important than nice cobblestones or a European boulevard vibe!