{"id":293675,"date":"2026-02-20T15:57:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T15:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/293675\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T15:57:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T15:57:11","slug":"midtown-trial-who-wants-to-ruin-queen-st","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/293675\/","title":{"rendered":"Midtown Trial: Who wants to ruin Queen St?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this week, I detailed how Auckland Transport is messing up Midtown <\/a>with a proposed trial on Queen Street and Wellesley Street.<\/p>\n

AT\u2019s trial will:<\/p>\n

Reopen the section of Queen St between Wakefield and Wellesley to general vehicles, from 7pm \u2013 7am (Currently, this is a 24\/7 AVO zone \u2013 Authorised Vehicles Only \u2013 used by buses, bikes, mopeds, motorbikes, emergency vehicles, and registered goods vehicles.)Propose that bus lanes on Wellesley St, one of the busiest bus corridors in the city, and on the brink of completing a major upgrade<\/a>, only operate between 7am \u2013 7pm.<\/p>\n

These changes go against official advice from AT\u2019s Public Transport team, and the visions and strategies that govern the city centre \u2013 as well as all previous public feedback, plans, consulted projects, expert advice and evidence underpinning normal decision-making<\/p>\n

If the trial goes ahead, it will run for\u00a0two years, starting in March and overlapping with CRL opening.<\/p>\n

Bizarrely, as confirmed by documents I received via LGOIMA request \u2013 AT has done a total U-turn on its initial intentions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And as far as can be gleaned from the documents, as well as not reaching out to city residents via the City Centre Residents Group, nor trusted voices from the on-hiatus City Centre Advisory Panel, it also seems that AT didn\u2019t speak with walking or cycling or disability advocacy organizations, nor with the Waitemat\u0101 Local Board (other than telling them in December it was happening, with no opportunity for input), nor with FENZ, who may have concerns about adding overnight traffic to that stretch, nor with Police whose job it would presumably be to keep an eye out for boy racers.<\/p>\n

Or if they did, it\u2019s not recorded.<\/p>\n

So why would AT pull such a dramatic U-ey on their original direction?<\/p>\n

Or to put it another way: who is making AT do this?<\/p>\n

Maybe the Mayor?<\/p>\n

One of the loudest voices on the city centre is former city-centre resident Mayor Wayne Brown. He often shoots from the hip, irritated over things he identifies as dysfunctional and poorly thought out. He\u2019s not always wrong.<\/p>\n

In September and October 2025, emails went back and forth between the Mayor<\/a> and Auckland Transport<\/a> on various matters, including a callback to the mayor\u2019s request in his Letter of Expectation that AT inform Council about \u2018ways to traverse the CBD east to west by car\u2018.<\/p>\n

Auckland Transport\u2019s response was pretty good<\/a> for what it was: it defended the core principles of the City Centre Bus Plan and the idea of improving circulation plans (a core component of Access for Everyone). But it lacked a lot of details, leaving that up to further discussion.<\/p>\n

And so, as the Mayor continues to pressure AT, combined with AT\u2019s ongoing struggle to explain and deliver Access for Everyone\u2026 it makes me suspect that senior leadership just don\u2019t understand, like, or care about these key strategies enough to be able to explain what needs to happen and why.<\/p>\n

See for example this November 2025 memo to AT\u2019s Design and Delivery Committee from AT senior leadership<\/a>. All of a sudden, the traffic circulation plan is about giving priority to the \u201820% of general vehicles\u2019 that cross the Queen Street valley, instead of to public transport, walking, and cycling.<\/p>\n

Excerpt from November 2025 Memo (cropped and edited as this section crossed over multiple pages)<\/p>\n

If AT were following the Access for Everyone plan, they\u2019d have moved the east-west traffic onto Mayoral Drive and Customs Street, as planned. Which is better for public transport, better for pedestrians in the area, and crucially better for people driving as it provides clear, logical ways to get around the City Centre without disrupting other people in the network.<\/p>\n

A properly \u2018integrated\u2019 approach to transport, to use AT\u2019s own terms. But instead, AT folded, completely against the advice of their own public transport team.<\/p>\n

Such a wasted opportunity, especially given the Mayor is known to change his mind when given a proper technical explanation \u2013 and is fond of saying buses are the only good part of AT.<\/p>\n

Excerpt of key issues the Mayor raised about Wellesley Street from November 2025 Memo<\/p>\n

Excerpt of key issues the Mayor raised about Queen Street from November 2025 Memo<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But the Mayor, while important, is only one person, and he seemed to care a lot more about Wellesley Street than Queen Street, with AT seemingly bringing up the AVO of their own volition.<\/p>\n

So who else was pushing AT to do a 180?<\/p>\n

The Beck in the room<\/p>\n

As highlighted in the November 2025 Memo, the only parties AT consulted in detail about the trial proposal were Heart of the City and Auckland Live.<\/p>\n

(The City Centre Advisory Panel had been stood down after the 2025 Local Elections, and is still waiting for the Mayor to reform it, leaving no official channel for broader views of city centre stakeholders.)<\/p>\n

With Auckland Live, my gut feeling is they may have expressed genuine concerns \u2013 Pick Up and Drop Off, access for those with disabilities \u2013 and that they either suggested, or were given, poor solutions. They\u2019re not the transport experts, after all, and while AT has decent plans for these concerns<\/a>, they didn\u2019t make it into the current trial.<\/p>\n

So that leaves Heart of the City. HOTC represents over 15,000 businesses in the city centre, and as with the City Centre Advisory Panel, there\u2019s bound to be a variety of views.<\/p>\n

But you wouldn\u2019t know that if you just heard from its Chief Executive, Viv Beck, who consistently paints a relentlessly negative portrait of the city centre <\/a>\u2013 with an apparent tendency to go rogue, as covered by Hayden Donnell in an in-depth piece on The Spinoff yesterday.<\/a><\/p>\n

Take the unrepresentative and misleading survey<\/a>, released without approval of the HOTC board:<\/p>\n

The Spinoff understands Heart of the City\u2019s board didn\u2019t approve the survey\u2019s release and were blindsided when its results were sent out to the media. The story\u2019s timing caused consternation. Businesses rely on Christmas sales to see them through the year and headlines about drug use and crime don\u2019t exactly paint the picture of an alluring shopping destination. There have also been questions raised about the survey\u2019s methodology. A Heart of the City statement said it sent its questionnaire out to 500 businesses of \u201cvarying types and sizes in and around Queen Street\u201d and received a \u201cstatistically sound response rate of 18%\u201d. But those 102 respondents only make up a sliver of the 15,500 businesses in the area Heart of the City is tasked with representing.<\/p>\n

Or the marketing approach that\u2019s making people scared to come to the City Centre<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Heart of the City board member Les Morgan told The Spinoff he had seen first-hand how much some of the city centre coverage had impacted people\u2019s perceptions. Though he works in the city as chief operating officer at Sudima Hotels, he lives in Pukekohe. His wife went for a stay in town recently with friends. \u201cThey decided to go out of the hotel for dinner, and they were both clasping my wife\u2019s arms,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople out here are afraid of the crime.\u201d Auckland Central MP\u00a0Chl\u00f6e Swarbrick, meanwhile, recounted a conversation with a Wellington Uber driver. \u201cHe said \u2018you\u2019re from Auckland central. Isn\u2019t it dangerous?\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

HOTC\u2019s work is part-funded from public money, a significant chunk of which goes on wages:<\/p>\n

Auckland Council\u2019s planning committee chairman Richard Hills echoed the sentiment.\u00a0\u201cIt constantly makes me confused that someone who is in a position called CEO of Heart of the City, which is about promoting how great the city is, usually does the opposite,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Hills said his confusion was compounded by the amount the council was investing in Heart of the City.\u00a0It received $5.9 million from Auckland Council last year, most of which was levied through a targeted rate on central city businesses which is meant to go toward efforts to \u201cdevelop economic activities\u2026 and provide value to the business community<\/a>\u201d. According to Heart of the City\u2019s\u00a0audit report<\/a>, the largest share of that funding went towards events and advertising, but the organisation has\u00a0nine staff members<\/a>\u00a0and a wage bill of $1.59 million. That averages out to $180,000 per employee, though The Spinoff understands some staff are part-time. \u201cThe public and especially the city centre residents and businesses are investing significant amounts of money into promoting positive things in the city. So when it is undermined, sometimes on the day that money is being spent, it does call into question the return on investment,\u201d Hills said.<\/p>\n

Most relevant to the Midtown Trial mess is Beck\u2019s unwavering belief that the only way to fix things is to bring back cars and parking everywhere<\/a>. In pursuit of this mission, as Donnell notes, she has helped set up a new incorporated society (possibly in rivalry with HOTC?): the Lower Queen St Association Incorporated<\/a> which is focused on\u2026 you guessed it, bringing back cars and parking.<\/p>\n

Beck seems undeterred. Recently she\u2019s been helping out a new incorporated society set up to represent lower Queen Street businesses. The Spinoff understands the society\u2019s goals include restoring car parking outside luxury stores like Louis Vuitton and Dior along that stretch, which could mean scaling back some of the council\u2019s pedestrian-friendly upgrades to Queen Street. In a text to The Spinoff, Beck said she was working with the group \u201cand will continue to support them as we do with other precincts\u201d.<\/p>\n

And if the only voice AT is listening to is Viv Beck\u2019s, you get the mess that is the Midtown Trial.<\/p>\n

It seems the AVO zone on Queen Street is Beck\u2019s enemy number one. Take this email from June 2025, which builds on previous actions including a presentation to the AT Board in late 2024.<\/p>\n

June 2025 email from Viv Beck to Richard Leggat, chair of AT, about the Queen Street AVO zone.<\/p>\n

Usually, Beck\u2019s views are balanced by the broader, more holistic views of the City Centre Advisory Panel. But with the CCAP silent since the election, from November 2025 Beck\u2019s voice has roared into the vacuum.<\/p>\n

The exasperating thing is, her claims are totally disconnected from the data she has access to. HOTC\u2019s own footfall counts show Downtown bouncing back after its people-friendly transformation \u2013<\/a> suggesting Midtown will experience a similar bounce, if it\u2019s allowed to.<\/p>\n

Footfall around Downtown, via HOTC\u2019s counters.<\/p>\n

Footfall around Midtown, via HOTC\u2019s counters<\/p>\n

As Midtown\u2019s streets reopen \u2013 Wellesley St, Victoria St\/ Te H\u0101 Noa linear park \u2013 people will return. And once CRL opens, they\u2019ll be a direct train ride right into the heart of the city. Thousands of people per day, pouring into Midtown, without the need for a single extra car on Queen St.<\/p>\n

And as AT\u2019s own monitoring shows, people driving across the Queen St valley are only about 20% of all vehicles, and there\u2019s no reason those trips couldn\u2019t move to Mayoral Drive.<\/p>\n

Moreover, the number of people driving into the city centre has been stagnant or declining since long before the Queen St AVO was added \u2013 and still, the city centre GDP outpaces the rest of the country<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A fun graph from pre-Covid, showing the decline in people going into the City Centre by car between 2015-2017 \u2013 before the Queen Street AVO, before Access for Everyone.<\/p>\n

Even the number of infringements (people driving into and through the AVO zone by mistake) is steadily falling \u2013 so the grumbles about \u201cconfusion\u201d and \u201crevenue grabs\u201d just don\u2019t stack up.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This has continued through 2025:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Long story short, Beck\u2019s constant claims have no factual basis, and show a flawed understanding of what makes a 21st C city thrive. So why is AT prioritising her views over everyone else\u2019s?<\/p>\n

And let\u2019s be clear. This isn\u2019t about urbanists and advocates versus hard-nosed business people.<\/p>\n

You just have to look at how buildings are being marketed in Midtown. The key selling points are access to public transport, and walkability (which equals high foot-traffic). We\u2019re told \u201cretail is returning\u201d!<\/p>\n

An article in the NZ Herald, fittingly published on 14 Feb 2026<\/a>, brimming with love for Midtown.<\/p>\n

When places let people thrive, businesses thrive too. Just to give a few examples:<\/p>\n

1. The space left by the closure of Smith and Caughey\u2019s is being filled with Faradays\u2026 a retail store:<\/a><\/p>\n

You won\u2019t be standing there looking for someone to help you out; you\u2019ll be engaged with immediately. The digital to retail language and energy will be almost seamless. We\u2019ll be very focused on an amazing digital and in-store experiences, we\u2019re investigating the way those two things speak to each other, and dedicated to hospitality because we understand retail is an experience; it\u2019s like an event. The product you leave with is only part of the product that you\u2019re kind of purchasing. I feel that\u2019s been lost in the past,\u201d Von Dadelszen said.<\/p>\n

2. The owners of Queens Arcade are spending $5 million transforming the historic building into a retail and well-being hub. If you listen to the interview on RNZ,<\/a> there\u2019s not one mention of cars \u2013 instead, extolling the value of things like the City Rail Link.<\/p>\n

3. Look at the billions invested into Downtown Auckland from various businesses<\/a> redeveloping the precinct around the CRL.<\/p>\n

Of course development and recovery are discontinuous. We should have empathy for business owners who are struggling, and they should be supported through disruptive changes. But knee-jerk reactions and blanket pushback \u2013 inflamed by people who should know better \u2013 hurt us all.<\/p>\n

So I have no idea why senior leadership in AT have acquiesced to Viv Beck.<\/p>\n

Because the real answer for Midtown is to keep going, and get on with the transformations that we can see are already working elsewhere in the city. Build it, and they will come.<\/p>\n

Te Komititanga: a crossroads of transport, people, and shops. No traffic. (Image: Patrick Reynolds)<\/p>\n

Want to help save Midtown? Take action!<\/p>\n

The shape of the trial is currently being locked in, so we need to speak up now, and demand:<\/p>\n

The trial is adjusted before it starts (or can be adjusted when it inevitably leads to bad outcomes \u2013 unreliable buses, congestion, unpleasant vibes for people walking and biking, etc.)The trial delivers the kind of transformations people continually ask for and support \u2013 a more pedestrianised Queen Street, 24\/7 priority for buses on Wellesley Street, etc.<\/p>\n

As with Project K, we can absolutely win this round \u2013<\/a> but it takes people power!<\/p>\n

You can help by emailing the following people<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Mayor Wayne BrownDeputy Mayor Desley SimpsonWaitemat\u0101 and Gulf Ward Councillor Mike LeeChair of the Transport and Infrastructure Delivery Committee Andy BakerCEO Auckland Council Phil WilsonAT Chief Executive Dean KimptonAT Chair Richard LeggatAT Acting Director Network Performance Melanie AlexanderAT Director Public Transport and Active Modes Stacey Van Der PuttenAT Engagement Email Address<\/p>\n

To:\u00a0mayor.wayne.brown@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz<\/a>,\u00a0desley.simpson@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz<\/a>,\u00a0mike.lee@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz<\/a>,\u00a0andrew.baker@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz<\/a>,\u00a0phil.wilson@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz<\/a>,\u00a0chief.executive@at.govt.nz<\/a>,\u00a0Richard.leggat@at.govt.nz<\/a>,\u00a0Melanie.Alexander@at.govt.nz<\/a>,\u00a0Stacey.VanDerPutten@at.govt.nz<\/a>,\u00a0atengagement@at.govt.nz<\/a><\/p>\n

And feel free to cc:<\/p>\n

What to say? Firstly, state your opposition to:<\/p>\n

the undemocratic process that has led to this trialthe trial\u2019s premise \u2013 prioritising general traffic over public transport and people-friendly places.<\/p>\n

You may also wish to mention:<\/p>\n

the trial as proposed doesn\u2019t follow the vision of the City Centre Master Plan and its circulation plan, Access for Everyone.the timing is premature \u2013 with CRL opening later this year, a trial like this should have been considered only after we see how CRL changes the area.the trial is pushing for things that are the total opposite of what we, the people, have consistently said we want in every previous consultation.<\/p>\n

So we\u2019re asking Auckland Transport (and\/or Auckland Council) to immediately adjust the trial, and:<\/p>\n

Implement 24\/7 bus lanes on Wellesley Street, to prioritise public transport reliability and maximise the value of CRLKeep pedestrianising Queen Street \u2013 extend the AVO to Customs Street, and keep it 24\/7Introduce logical pickup and drop off (PUDO) plans for ubers and taxis in MidtownMake Midtown mobility accessible, without allowing a free-for-all of private vehicles<\/p>\n

It\u2019s always great to include your own personal experience and perspective. For example:<\/p>\n

What do you like about the City Centre?What do you enjoy about people-friendly areas like the Waterfront, Te Komititanga, Freyberg Place, Te H\u0101 Noa\/Victoria Street Linear Park?If you take public transport, especially via Queen St or Wellesley St, is reliability important to you?Do you want to see Queen Street even more pedestrianised? If so, say why!<\/p>\n

You can also mention that you value things like:<\/p>\n

public transport reliabilitywalkabilityless noise pollutionless air pollutionpedestrian safetycyclingthe quality of the street environment for public lifeand more<\/p>\n

As always, remember to be\u00a0polite but firm\u00a0in your views.<\/p>\n

We can win this, just like we won Project K \u2013 but only if we take action!<\/p>\n

So flick off an email and share this post and Monday\u2019s post<\/a> as widely as you can. Thank you!<\/p>\n

Greater Auckland\u2019s work is made possible by generous donations from our readers and fans.\u00a0We\u2019re now a registered charity, so your donations are tax-deductible. If you\u2019d like to support our work you can\u00a0join our circle of supporters here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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