An Alternative Plan: Pedestrian Precincts

Prior to the presentation of the Draft Town Plan, two Wellington architects submitted a very comprehensive report on city planning to the Council.

This report, known as the "Gabites and Beard Proposals," suggests that a reappraisal of the Transportation Plan should be undertaken and a plan embodying the traffic-free precinct principle should be initialed.

It recommends several changes in detail from earlier plans, including a realignment of the motorway from Tinakori Road to Grant Road, and three smaller tunnels for directing traffic around the bottleneck area between the hills and the sea in the vicinity of Lower Willis Street and Lambton Quay.

This is an alternative to one very large tunnel for the big motorway, and the three-level block proposed in the town plan which are primarily designed to relieve traffic pressure in the bottleneck area.

Also, rather than a single, large, high vehicle-capacity motorway, it suggests that traffic volume be spread over a network of reasonably wide feeder routes. There would be frequent and easy access to these main routes and they would feature compact intersections.

There would be no need for huge flyovers such as those which in the Draft Town Plan require the despoliation of Bolton street cemetery and the Basin Reserve. In addition, parking buildings could be strategically related to the feeder routes.

With this scheme the city could be planned as a series of precincts on the basis of the functions that different areas perform. For instance, the government centre, Lambton Quay retail area, Manners Street retail area, Civic Centre (in the vicinity of the Library) would each be separate precincts. Traffic in each precinct would be localised, since through traffic would use the feeder routes and Secondary Distribution cross routes.

In some cases certain streets could be completely closed to traffic (except for emergency services such as ambulances), and these would become traffic-free pedestrian malls. These could be serviced by a system of slowmoving minibuses.

These proposals have many merits and represent some realistic alternatives to the City Council's present plans. In addition to the obvious savings in land spare required for traffic routes and intersections, valuable reserve areas are retained.

In addition, the plan embodies the traffic-free pedestrian mall principle without having to create the costly multi-level block over Willis Street, and there are no one-way streets, This is a sensible plan. It does not require such drastic and sweeping changes as the Draft Town Plan, while retaining many of its virtues. It deserves careful consideration by the authorities.—G. F. McD.