New City Carpark Booming

 

Great to see the new Darby St carpark going so well.


It’s been very popular today with motorists as it is most days.

Nothing like sneaking around from Queen St and grabbing a park and going off for a few hours without a care in the world.

Bring on more Shared Spaces so we can encourage more cars into the city and more cheap carpark spaces.
Who cares about pedestrians anyway.
This issue has been raised here several times in the last few weeks with similar damming photographic evidence and I could have put up more.

Auckland Transport was alerted.

Obviously the authorities don’t care or they would have acted - and one sadly can conclude the PR spin about Shared Spaces is BS.
That spin at the time of the Darby St opening said:

“Len Brown says the introduction of shared space is part of the council’s vision to further Auckland’s reputation as one of the world’s most liveable cities and the Darby Street opening celebration will showcase how shared spaces can enhance Auckland.”

Sounds good in theory.  Now prove it.

I even saw 2 private cars parked across Elliott St last night outside a nightclub with no sign of their owners. They were taking advantage of the Shared Space construction there and must have moved road cones to get in.

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34 Comments

 
  1. Linz says:

    Despicable. Keep up this campaign Jon.

  2. Richard says:

    Its a road, there is no signs indicating no parking. If there is not supposed to be any parking there, then perhaps some signage or remove its designation as a road?

    I hate those “shared” roads - unsafe for both cars and pedestrians.

  3. BD says:

    The council needs to enforce parking fines to prevent people from parking there. At the moment there is no such thing in place to stop this from happening, if enough people keep complain to the council about it I think this will stop this from happening in fact i am thinking about sending them an email myself, because I find it absolutely disgusting that all this money was spent upgrading the road and the cars parking there are sending out a message that its OK to park there, absolutely disgusting if you ask me!!

  4. Richard says:

    Upgrading the road?! No way, it was much better before. the one at the bottom of town is even worse. Just waiting for the first published casualty from this total ass up of a design and the council will go and waste even more money pulling them out and putting in proper separated footpaths again.

  5. Cam says:

    Just fine these people already. They are only parking there because they can get away with it. Slap a fine on them and they wont do it twice.

  6. Matt L says:

    Richard - There is a sign at the start of the road saying no parking along it.
    http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5302/5621193862_a1f39c9b95_b.jpg
    Also I disagree that the road was better before, there was nothing inviting to pedestrians about it at all, it is so much better now.

    On a positive note, When I was down there on Thursday at lunchtime there wasn’t a single car parked.

  7. Pim says:

    Richard, you seem to have the same up yourself view that cars rule. That typical kiwi attitude that cars, PT, peds, and bikes can’t work togther, which of course is bullshit. This is moving forward. It is better. If people would respect each other on roads like this, maybe it might start happening everywhere, and everyone can work together. It will also encourage more cyclists and pedestrians in auckland. Cars don’t rule, Richard.

  8. Stranded on the North Shore says:

    Ha! I was just walking past Darby Street today around 5.30pm, and I saw these cars there, and I saw a parking warden issuing tickets. I absolutely love these shared streets, and our well-travelled-guests who we were walking with tonight thought they were fantastic too, and asking us when will Queen Street become pedestrian friendly too. Not soon enough. @Richard - get out of your car.

  9. Mike F says:

    It is shared space.As the sign states vehicles can park for 5 minutes 6am to 11am.
    Went through there last Sunday afternoon and no cars were parked.

  10. Matt L says:

    Stranded - Good to see it being enforced
    Mike - Yes but Jon wouldn’t have been there taking photos in the morning when short stopping is allowed.

    Another thing, of all the times I have seen cars parked there or pictures of them parked, this is the first time I have seen them angle parking. The whole point of having the light poles, trees and seats that far out from the shops on the southern side was to create a large area that was completely car free. I suspect one person parked that way and everyone else followed along like sheep

  11. Scott says:

    What is required legally to allow towing?

  12. Feijoa says:

    Last week a car parallel parked next to a truck blocking the entire road/space. The cars stuck in the queue that built up seemed very patient given the circumstance, which I took to be a good sign that they weren’t expecting to be able to whiz through there.

    The council needs to install CCTV and issue tickets for any vehicles seen stopping. People will soon learn.

  13. Mike F says:

    @Matt L
    I agree Jon would have photographed these vehicles parking illegally.
    Just pointing out that there is a circumstance when vehicles are allowed to park legally on these shared spaces.(purpose of loading, it does not state “goods vehicles only” so I presume any type of vehicle is allowed for 5 minutes)

  14. George D says:

    How predictable. Sadly. Shared spaces don’t work.

  15. Andy says:

    George D,
    I live in a country where most back and many side streets have no footpath whatsoever and everyone understands this and gets around fine. What a load of rubbish.

  16. Jeremy says:

    I think instead of a large shared zone sign just have a 15km speed limit sign and a larger no parking sign.

  17. James B says:

    I’ve seen people being ticketed here as well. I think the big problem is that parking wardens can’t be everywhere. I agree with Feijoa. Ticket them via CCTV.

  18. Matt says:

    I thought Loading Zone meant commercial deliveries for local businesses, not someone stopping for 5 minutes. So there really should be no cars parked there ever.

    I learnt my road rules in South Australia. What are Loading Zones in NZ?

  19. Anthony says:

    @Matt, Same as yours actually….just people tend to park there and dgaf about the road rules.

  20. Mike F says:

    @Anthony, @Matt
    Suggest you look at the NZ road code.

    http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/roadcode/about-driving/parking-signs.html

    Under “loading zone” without the “goods vehicle only” sign.

    “Any vehicle can stop here to unload goods or people, but the vehicle must not be left unattended for more than five minutes”

    I presume the Auckland Council follows the standard signage rules ?

  21. Kurt says:

    A giant footpath with cars allowed on it is a recipe for disaster. Pedestrians thinking its a footpath, drivers thinking its a road with no defined areas.

    Too many pedestrians don’t think when crossing roads as it is and they will come off second best unfortunately.

    Make it a road with footpaths or close it to traffic. I agree with Richard, its an ass up of a design.

  22. Owen Thompson says:

    Either as a pedestrian or a driver, I would prefer footpaths, kerbs and a defined road. As things stand, I would still walk down the side as if there was a proper path there.

  23. Feijoa says:

    Why didn’t the council make it “Goods vehicle only”, or even better totally remove the loading zone status to simplify for everyone? Once Elliot St and Fort Lane covert they’re either going to need permanent patrols stationed in each area or CCTV tickets as I suggested previously. Does anyone know if the law allows for them to issue parking tickets based on camera sighting only?

    As a frequent user of the area, I think it is a big improvement and a lot easier and nicer to walk through then previously. The layout offers a lot more room to wander and cars are travelling slightly slower. Walking right along the edges is probably as safe as it always was, and using the whole space is much safer than if you had to walk on the old road. Footpaths don’t always make things safer in Auckland — in the city you’ve got people whizzing over them from car park exits and in the suburbs people regularly use them for parking.

  24. Riccardo says:

    No, I take the minority view - peds and cars should be mixing on undefined roadways - so that cars are forced to slow down.

    It’s ‘segregated’ spaces that’s the problem. Melbourne has a well documented issue with this where trams have a ‘pedestrian safety zone’ to stand in - this just makes drivers think they can speed up around them.

    When the roadways are poorly defined, the cars must slow down. And if you get enough of this, people give up on driving around town, it’s too slow. The best opportunity for underground rail.

  25. George D says:

    No, I take the minority view – peds and cars should be mixing on undefined roadways – so that cars are forced to slow down.

    You’re suggesting we use our bodies as educational tools? No thanks.

  26. DanC says:

    CCTV fines

  27. sj says:

    Last time I saw this happen I called the council, and they sent a parking warden along promptly to ticket all the cars.

    I encourage everyone else to do so.

  28. Anthony says:

    @Sj

    Unfortunely, i haven’t have the pleasure to do that yet as i don’t live in Auckland.

    I wonder what what happen if i threatened to call the warden on them if I saw someone pulling in?

  29. Andrew says:

    @sj haha that’s at least three of us that regularly call them on the issue then. Eventually they may station a warden there just to shut us up :)

    Do you call Auckland Council or Auckland Transport?

  30. sj says:

    @Anthony: If you threaten to call the warden you’ll be subject to a lot of verbal and maybe physical abuse; best to leave it to the council.

    @Andrew: I called Auckland Council. They seem to take complaints pretty seriously.

  31. Matt L says:

    I was down there just 5 minutes ago and not only were there no cars but someone from AT was patrolling the street

  32. anthony says:

    How much is the fine for parking there again?

  33. Maybe the Shared Spaces thing was a minor conspiracy theory….

  34. We recently completed some initial monitoring of the city’s first shared space in Darby Street and the results show that the average speed is now only 16.5kmph and the majority of people understand that this is a pedestrian-priority environment.

    This is very much in line with overseas examples that demonstrate that shared spaces produce traffic calming results because motorists and pedestrians have to engage more carefully with their surroundings due to the lack of street cues.

    However, as you highlight, there is more work to do to educate people on the parking rules. For more of this CBD shared spaces

    We are working closely with Auckland Transport to increase the education and enforcement of the rules which permit vehicle parking for loading and service delivery for five minutes between 6am and 11am daily. This ensures the street is freed up to allow more space for people, outdoor dining and other street activities at other times of the day.

 

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