Close Courtenay Place to cars

green-party

Fri Mar 30 2007 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Close Courtenay Place to cars

Friday, 30 March 2007, 1:38 pm
Press Release: Green Party

30 March 2007

The Green Party is calling on the Wellington City Council to improve bus travel times through the city by closing Courtenay Place to all traffic except buses, emergency vehicles and taxis at peak times

The Greens are suggesting that Courtenay Place be closed off between 7-9am and 4-6pm on weekdays and between 10am-2pm on the weekends said Wellington City spokesperson Iona Pannett.

"There is increasing traffic congestion throughout the city and buses are also clogging up Courtenay Place in peak hours. This has the effect of slowing our buses down and discouraging commuters from using them.

"If we are to solve congestion problems we must get more people using public transport and they must be able to get through the city quickly. It is ridiculous to have such heavy volumes of traffic going through Courtenay Place which is a major public transport hub", said Ms. Pannett.

"Latest traffic count figures from the Wellington City Council this year show that the weekday average number of vehicles through Courtenay Place is 12,684, a significant number of them carrying one person per car during peak hours. 1346 buses go through on a daily basis, many with 40 to 50 passengers at busy times. Reducing traffic volumes by around 90% would be an effective mechanism to move more people, more quickly through the city. Weekend numbers are also high, showing thousands of vehicles passing through detection points," said Ms. Pannett.

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"There are a number of alternative routes that drivers can take during these times. Lightening the traffic volumes on Courtenay Place would encourage more public transport use and also foot traffic."

Ultimately, the Council should aim to close off the whole of the Golden Mile to cars (Lambton Quay, Willis Street through to Courtenay Place) said Ms. Pannett. "Closing off Courtenay Place could be used as a trial to evaluate the idea," she said.

Ms. Pannett pointed out that a precedent had already been set with the closing off Manners Street to private vehicles 6am-6pm Monday to Saturday.

ENDS

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