How to keep cars out of shared spaces, and the transport plan that will change our lives

[If you are unable to view this message correctly, click here]( [stuff header]( Hi {NAME}, Auckland has spent [tens of millions of dollars]( turning city centre streets into Parisian-style “shared spaces” intended for people to cycle, stroll and relax away from traffic. And then people park their cars in them. The online posts with photos of [cars parked up on the fancy paving]( have become a staple of Auckland-centric social media accounts, appealing to the city’s transport agency to tow the offenders. Now. Auckland Council is gradually [making the city centre more people-friendly]( and less a place designed for the flow of traffic and parking at the door of a desired shopping destination. But [frustration is building]( among local politicians and urban design advocates that not enough is being done to keep cars from blighting the fancy new “shared spaces”. They are called “shared” spaces because technically most are still roadways, but after their costly revamps they more closely resemble pedestrian zones, with enough space for essential traffic. The newest of them is the $9 million upgrade of the short, southern cul-de-sac in [Federal Street]( where at its opening, the mayor Phil Goff and local councillor Pippa Coom, hoped enforcement would prevent it being blighted by illegally parked vehicles. The next day, the Twitter posts of illegally parked cars in Federal St began appearing. Why the council’s agency Auckland Transport (AT) can’t keep illegally parked cars out of attractive people spaces is not clear. AT insisted it is [not a lack of resources]( , although parking enforcement teams have been shrunk like many workforces by Covid-19 and staff shortages. The Twitter posts targeting AT are generally responded to with a message that the incident has been passed to the relevant team, but the agency keeps no collated records of what happens. New technology is being rolled out that will allow AT’s control room to be alerted by cameras when a vehicle stops in illegal space, but the rollout has no time frame and [depends on funding.]( But AT’s position and the regular Twitter posts don’t match. In one photo, more than half a dozen cars are visible illegally parked in Galway St one night. Almost as many as the nine tickets written out for the street in six months. There seems little point in spending large amounts of ratepayers money improving the city, if funding, political direction, and will is not there to enable people to enjoy it. [user profile pic] Todd Niall Senior Stuff Journalist [See more Auckland news]( [Privacy Info]( [Privacy Info]( [Watch this video now] Anti-vax group wanting to make NZ 'ungovernable' targets local body elections An anti-vaccination, anti-mandate group which says it wants to make the country “ungovernable” is standing candidates in local body elections to “sway the results (and) throw our weight around”. Voices For Freedom (VFF) openly campaigned to get supporters into decision-making positions but told candidates to hide their affiliations - prompting a warning to voters to thoroughly research candidates before voting. “Having all of those pretty dangerous people onboard [as candidates] I think is a worrying development,” said Dr Mona Krewel, a political scientist who has studied Voices For Freedom and other leading figures in the so-called freedom movement. [Read More]( [Privacy Info]( More Auckland stories you might have missed [Article Image] Term 1 school attendance figures plumb new depths [Read more button]( [Article Image] House on Auckland's North Shore with huge rubbish pile sells for $500k [Read more button]( [Article Image] Climate change: Plan that will change Aucklanders' lives due Monday [Read more button]( [Article Image] Auckland's St James Theatre at risk of becoming dangerous building [Read more button]( [Support Stuff]( [Discover more Auckland news at Stuf]( You are receiving this email because you are opted in to receive the Your Auckland newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( [Manage your profile]( [Privacy Policy]( Did a friend forward you this email? [Sign up to get Your Auckland in your inbox]( Stuff, 4 Williamson Ave, Ponsonby, Auckland, 1021, New Zealand