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Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 28, No. 8. 1965.

[subsection]

On April 27, 1965, a [unclear: draft] town plan was presented [unclear: a] for public discussion [unclear: by] the Wellington City Council. The plan contained [unclear: c] major proposals [unclear: designe] to rehabilitate the [unclear: city] centre.

The foothill motorway plan [unclear: re] commended by the De [unclear: Leu] Gather transportation plan [unclear: ex] tended to the eastern side [unclear: s] the Mt. Victoria tunnel.

Three-level streets with [unclear: segregate] traffic and pedestrian [unclear: shoppi] malls in Victoria and [unclear: Will] Streets.

Other ground level pedestrian malls, and extensions to the proposed one-way street system, together with a number of parking buildings surrounding the Central Business District.

An underground railway extending from the present suburban commuter service to Courtenay Place.

Superficially the public relations of presenting the draft plan at this meeting were very good. However, the majority of the members of the public who attended were confronted with a series of rather esoteric discourses on the finer arts of town planning. The lack of discussion, induced by both this and the restrictive attitude towards questioning, was interpreted by the Council and the Press as favourable reaction to the plan.

To assess the merits of this plan it is necessary to isolate the assumptions on which it is based and test their validity.

• The assumption that "the residential population will increase to approximately 150,000 persons by 1985" has not been based on any statistical research. Population projections by the Wellington Regional Planning Authority, based on statistical analysis, for the whole of the Wellington city area estimate a 1986 population of only 133,000. It would appear that the Council planning authorities have been rather optimistic.

• Given the present negative attitudes of New Zealand urban dwellers towards high density housing, it is not unreasonable to assume that only certain sections of the community can be expected to live in the large area planned for high density housing—single businessmen businesswomen, young couples, the estimated 20,000 university and polytechnic students and staff.

This feature has been edited by D. J. Hewitson with contributions from Salient staff reporters W. A. Leagron, A. G.

Loesch and G. F. McDonald.

To persuade the family man employed in the inner city to live in these areas instead of separate suburban homes will require a drastic revision of the existing New Zealand housing mores.

• It is estimated that the plan will cost £50,000,000, the investment to be spread over the next 20 years. It is questionable whether there will be enough money in New Zealand society to ensure this. There are many other capital investments which will be hindering the plan's chances—for example, by 1976 £56,000,000 will have been invested in the establishment of the Iron and Steel industry.

• The planned three-tiered Willis Street-Victoria Street area is rather optimistic in view of the patterns of retailing decentralisation which have occurred in overseas centres. It is doubtful whether this retailing agglomeration will be able to draw on a sufficiently large buying power as establishment of considerable retail centres in Upper Hutt, Porirua, Tawa and Paraparaumu points to the local adoption of these overseas trends.

• The emphasis placed on the car in the draft plan is another cause of problems. The planning committee do not appear to have completely grasped the dual function of the car. It is:—

1.The means of transporting the owner to and from his/her work-place.
2.The means of transporting the owner to and from the marketplace.

The proposals regarding traffic problems have been aimed at preventing peak-hour traffic congestion and keeping the traffic moving throughout the inner city. This fulfills the car's function as a transporter to and from work. However, it inhibits its function as transporter to and from the market-place.

The inner city of the future should have a special market and intellectual atmosphere stimulated largely from its function—the fact that most car owners will not be able to drive themselves directly to the markets (or to the restaurant before the theatre) will help to ultimately destroy the essential atmosphere of the inner city; a factor that the retailers' associations seem vaguely aware of. This loss of atmosphere will have a detrimental effect on the retailers' economies and is a factor which will increase the decentralisation of retailing.

Finally, there is the rather incomprehensible situation of a draft town plan without any list of priorities. There is a need for the co-ordinated development of the various projects, otherwise there is the possibility of a motorway coming into the inner city without sufficient parking facilities to accommodate the incoming cars; a situation not completely unrealistic when one considers implementation of some previous City Council schemes!— D.J.H.