Person arrested after Albert Park incident causes traffic chaos in Auckland

A 52-year-old man has been taken into custody after an incident at Auckland's Albert Park that shut down roads and saw buildings evacuated.

Charges were being considered and the man had been wanted for arrest at the time of the incident, police said.

Earlier they said officers were responding after a person made a number of concerning comments.

Albert Park, and buildings on Princes Street and Bowen lane were evacuated as a precaution, they said.

Streets immediately surrounding the park were also cordoned off.

All cordons surrounding the park have now been lifted and there was no ongoing risk to the public, police said.

Waha, who did not provide a last name, works at the Auckland Art Gallery, located in Albert Park.

"We were just sitting at our desk when one of my co-workers came to tell us that we have to evacuate the whole building so we were just doing that. At first we were waiting outside to see what the update was and they kept pushing us back further, closer to Queen Street," Waha said.

Audrey lives in the St James Apartments on Wellesley St, adjacent to Albert Park.

She said she was not told why she had to evacuate.

"The fire alarm went off, I rushed out with my keys and my phone and I saw police at the front door who said there's no fire but we're evacuating the area."

Traffic had been backed up on Wellesley Street East and High St, with traffic also blocked down Wellesley St.

The Wellesley Street off-ramp has reopened, Waka Kotahi NZTA said.

All bus services had reverted back to normal stops and routes after detours were in place during the incident.

"I would like to acknowledge the public's patience while this incident unfolded, as several evacuations and cordons impacted many people going about their business at the time," Auckland City Central area commander Inspector Grant Tetzlaff said.