Vision for city to the villages
What we aim to do
- Enable safe and enjoyable walking and cycling journeys between the city centre and its fringe neighbourhoods.
- Address natural and artificial barriers between the city centre and city fringe.
- Strengthen connections between the fringe neighbourhoods.
- Support development on the fringes of the city centre, connecting existing and newly developing urban areas.
- Enable fringe neighbourhoods to benefit more fully from proximity to the city centre facilities, and vice-versa.
- Improve gateways into the city centre, including the bridges across the urban motorway system, to improve legibility and wayfinding, shelter and comfort and take advantage of views.
- Support convenient and frequent bus, ferry, heavy rail and possible future light rail services between the city centre and its inner neighbourhoods.
Why we want to do this
Auckland's city fringe neighbourhoods, despite their proximity to the city centre, are cut off by natural and artificial barriers.
From the late 1950s onwards, the central motorway junction, known as spaghetti junction, gave new freedom of movement past the city centre, but at the expense of the city centre's connections with its surrounding suburbs.
These historic neighbourhoods, in particular Parnell, Ponsonby, Eden Terrace and Newmarket are vital to the city centre. They house a large residential population within easy reach of the city centre. They provide retail, entertainment and working space with close proximity to the city centre. Major destinations such as Auckland Domain and Auckland City Hospital are located in the city fringe.
Walking routes into the city are typically narrow strips alongside several lanes of traffic - the walking experience can be unsafe, unpleasant and confusing.
Cycling infrastructure has seen recent improvements but is still currently piecemeal and there is room to build on recent improvements to public transport.
This move proposes to make it easier, safer and more pleasant to travel between the city centre and city fringe, complementing the density, connectivity and destinations of the historic core of Auckland.
