Vandalism has led to the premature end of a trial project aimed at slowing traffic and increasing safety for cyclists and pedestrians in an Auckland suburb.
Physical barriers make up part of the low traffic neighbourhood in Onehunga in March. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
The pilot, launched in late March, was a "Low Traffic Neighbourhood" (LTN) around Arthur and Grey Streets in Onehunga.
But in recent days, the temporary objects used to block through traffic were "moved and damaged, causing serious road and pedestrian safety issues and with significant costs involved in reinstallation and temporary traffic management measures", the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board said.
Photographs posted to social media show the crates used as barriers graffitied and dragged to the sides of roads so cars could drive through again.
"The decision was made under the board's urgent decision-making process after a briefing this morning due to vandalism and disruption at the project site," a statement on Thursday evening said.
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board chairperson Maria Meredith said "There was a concerning escalation of criminal activity by a minority which has resulted in serious public safety issues, including a number of reported near-misses involving cars and pedestrians. In the face of threats to continue this dangerous behaviour, the board felt the only response was to call an end to the trial.
"It was clear to us that there was an increasing social cost falling on local board members, the teams working on the project and indeed a widening divide within the community.
"It is disappointing to see this project come to an end under such circumstances, because the main goals of the Innovating Streets projects still remain an important part of what will make our city a great place to live in the future.
"It's a sad fact that as intensification increases, traffic is going to get a lot worse in our neighbourhood streets."
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board member Peter McGlashan, who was a champion for the LTN, said he was "extremely disappointed but not entirely surprised" by the ending of the trial.
"The civil disobedience and vandalism continued to escalate, putting the public at risk, regardless of the temporary nature of the trial and the observed benefits."
What are LTNs all about?
When the trial began, spatial planner Ben Ross said a low traffic neighbourhood was "designed to turn a residential area to make it more friendly towards people and less friendly towards cars.
"Residents can still get in and out but thoroughfare traffic is discouraged and as a result the community is able to use the street or streets as living space."
Where LTNs originated was the subject of two schools of thought, Ross said.
"The main concepts would have come out of the European Union, basically you look towards the French, German and UK examples … the other school of thought is they came out of Canada and the United States, particularly San Francisco, Seattle, Portland... they are northern hemisphere concepts adapted for New Zealand."
The top benefits of LTNs usually included "less pollution and emissions, streets becoming a living space, so better community interaction and reducing of social isolation … and the third one is what they call a mode switch.
A young cyclist approaches the Arthur St low traffic area roadblocks. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
LTNs could be created "pretty much anywhere", Ross said.
"The great thing about (LTNs) is they are portable, so they can be applied anywhere. Not just residential areas but also town and metropolitan centres and they are also modular, meaning rather than trying to one-size-fits-all, you can rework it to the environment or the geography of that area... So it's about flexibility."
"It encourages people to instead of using a car as first choice, using a walking biking or a bus as first choice - that's called a mode switch."
Objections usually came in two forms, he said.
"Inconvenience and 'I don't like change'. 'I don't like change' usually comes from a lack of information … once you tell them about it they usually become the biggest cheerleaders.
"The inconvenience one, that doesn't usually stack up, that just comes down to working through a culture change. It's understandable. You've been driving your car through for 20 years or so and this happens."
Work to reinstate the streets to their original layout was expected to take up to four days.