Access for Everyone... except trucks and vans!

PROPOSED ROADING LAYOUT changes to Queen Street, in Auckland’s CBD, will make freight and courier deliveries to downtown retail and office businesses “more difficult and unsafe.”

This is the belief of National Road Carriers Association ( NRC) spokesman Chris Carr, who says that the proposed changes are part of Auckland Transport’s Access for Everyone plan….

“But they are actually significantly reducing access for freight! As key stakeholders in roading and transport, the freight industry was not properly consulted on these changes before they were proposed.”

AT’s proposed changes include limiting delivery vehicles to the southbound lane of one stretch of Queen St during rush hours – with the northbound lane for buses only.

It also plans to limit one section of Queen St to buses only…at all times. And to create fulltime bus lanes and travel restrictions elsewhere in the heart of the CBD.

Carr says making it so that delivery drivers are unable to park on the side of Queen St that they’re servicing would be “hazardous, as drivers will have to cross the busy street with their deliveries – sometimes with multiple trolley loads.”

In one stretch of Queen St where two shopping plazas and a hotel are located, the proposed changes would leave just one loading zone available at peak courier delivery times. And the plan also has loading bays reshaped – cutting their capacity from three vans to two.

Says Carr: “This will inevitably create delivery vehicle snarlups and delivery drivers will be forced to find alternatives like double parking or pavement parking….or stop servicing those businesses.”

Carr suggests instead that private cars be banned from Queen St, so that it’s freed-up for buses, cyclists, pedestrians and delivery vehicles.

The bus-only section of the street should be opened to delivery vehicles at night, when buses are not running or are less frequent.

He also wants shared bus and freight lanes, retained – along with loading zones….in their number and their capacities.

And he calls on AT to engage better with businesses “to understand their freight needs.”

Summing-up the AT plan, Carr reckons: “AT says it wants to transform Auckland’s city centre into a world-class place, with thoughtful design. This is not well thought-through at all because it will create problems.”

NRC will be making a submission to Auckland Council on the proposed Queen St layout changes.

T&D