Apologies for the big gaps here, lots has been going on, but nothing moves quickly unfortunately and nothing concrete has happened yet. I'm hoping for another update in a month or two with a "spades in ground today" update.

Early in 2018 I was contacted regarding a project in this area, and I met with the Engineer from Auckland Transport who walked through the proposal (on site). It was very exciting to see what was proposed, a lot of big wins in the area. This led to some high level designs which were discussed with Bike Auckland and get some great feedback on, and finally a design.

The proposal is on Auckland Transport’s Website:

• Safety improvements proposed for Cook Street and surrounding area
• Cook Street, Auckland Central - Walking & cycling improvements
• Design Proposal

Bike Auckland also did a nice write up here with lots of images of the proposal.

The short version is:

• A Cycleway
• Some Raised Pedestrian Crossings and kerb buildouts
• A signalised crossing of Cook Street
• Removal of a lane on Cook Street
• Improvements to the intersection at Union and Drake
• Improvements to the intersection at Sale and Union/Cook

All very exciting, but this has been in funding limbo for a year now with NZTA not coming to the party just yet with their half. Reassuringly, the local board is willing to cover any shortfall to ensure it happens, so watch this space.

And speaking of the local board, the City Centre Residents' Group has just applied and been awarded a $10,000 grant to run community led initiatives to tackle some of the smaller quality of life issues in the area. We're in the process now of engaging the community and identifying what is important to them.  A quick blurb from the application:

"This project aims to improve access within Victoria Quarter for residents and visitors, create a safer and more child-friendly community with better access to open and play spaces and more public life. In doing this, we hope that the community will be strengthened, form a sense of pride for the area, and feel more valued.
 
All current planning for improvements in Victoria Quarter leave improvements in the unfunded, 10+ year bucket. As such, all outcomes below are intended to 'fill the gap' that residents have in their community for the next 10 years. In the case of community, the outcomes are intended to create a lasting culture of confidence and ownership of their neighbourhood."

If you live in the area and are keen to be involved, please reach out to the ccrg at info@ccrg.org.nz