Waihorotiu / Queen Street Valley

The future for Queen Street is to realise its potential to become a vibrant and celebrated shopping street at the very heart of the city. It will become the centrepiece of an expanded pedestrian-priority and zero emissions area covering the whole of Waihorotiu / Queen Street Valley.

Access for Everyone (A4E) will enable general traffic to be removed from Queen Street between Mayoral Drive and the waterfront, dramatically expanding space available for people.

Under Access for Everyone (A4E), Mayoral Drive will remain the one route providing general traffic access across Queen Street.

The ring road is designed to facilitate traffic flow through removal of on-street parking and simplified traffic signal operations.

Albert Street is undergoing significant development including major new commercial offices, hotels and residential apartment towers.

Revitalised with more generous and higher quality streetscape and easy access to public transport hubs at Aotea and downtown, Albert Street is emerging as a major commercial street second only to Queen Street in its importance to the city centre.

The Victoria linear park, the flagship opportunity of Transformational Move 6: The Green Link, will create a new green space and urban living room for people through the dense central midtown heart of Waihorotiu / Queen Street Valley on either side of Queen Street.

The linear park will become one of the most celebrated images of the city, creating a continuous corridor of green between Albert and Victoria parks.

A natural place of convergence and a cradle of civic and cultural activity at the heart of Waihorotiu, the area around Aotea Square will undergo a major urban transformation during the life of the masterplan.

Abundant access though transit stops and stations on Queen and Wellesley streets will drive greatly increased pedestrian flows supported by wider footpaths and an expanded network of public space and laneways.

New development opportunities will redefine the western edge of Aotea Square, create a new street address to Mayoral Drive and add significant additional activity and public life to the area.

The masterplan envisages Waihorotiu / Queen Street Valley shifting from an area of concentrated poor air quality to becoming a zero emissions area enabled by the transport and street changes under Access for Everyone (A4E),

This will be supported by:

• the transition to a pedestrian priority Queen Street
• an expanded laneway network
• future Light Rail Transit
• reductions in traffic and restrictions on vehicle type and size.

Key east-west transit street corridors at Wellesley and Customs streets crossing the Queen Street Valley will become transit streets that prioritise public transport, walking and cycling, while restricting general vehicle traffic.

The idea of a laneway circuit first floated in the CCMP 2012 has taken root and flourished in the city centre, bringing new life and vibrancy to many streets.

Supported by a pedestrian-priority Queen Street and abundant access from transit stops and stations, the existing laneway circuit will continue to grow to become an expanded network of laneways and pedestrian-priority walking streets extending across the whole of the Waihorotiu / Queen Street Valley.

Enabled by Access for Everyone (A4E), these streets will prioritise space for pedestrian movement, public space and local access and delivery needs.

Car park buildings to transition into multi-functional transport hubs providing enhanced transport services, including bike parking, electric vehicle charging stations, and areas for freight and delivery operations.