ADVOCATE COLUMN 4th WEEK MAY 2013

Two key elements of urban design are connectivity and permeability. They relate to the ability to move people or vehicles in different directions; they allow ease of movement between different parts of a town and prevent severing neighbourhoods or precincts. They also encourage movement on foot and can negate the requirement for long car journeys. So what happens when a small town with a central business district that is relatively spatially confined is bisected by a barrier that separates its predominantly retail precinct from its primary public open space of high amenity? Such a barrier prevents the integration of these two spaces and creates issues that have long-term consequences to the viability of our central urban area. I would suggest this is the situation that has existed in Whangarei for some time with Dent Street and its four lanes of traffic negatively impacting on both the permeability and connectivity between the Town Basin and Cameron Street Mall. If these physical components of our CBD are to be complementary and if we want our inner city built environment to function to its full potential, this is a matter that at some stage in the future will need to be addressed. Not only does it need to be resolved, but the manner of the resolution should not only be functional but express a level of elegance and maturity worthy of a districts most important public open space. During a recent Whangarei District Council presentation on the future redevelopment of the Central Business District, the Council’s urban design specialist showed a video clip relating to a traffic calming project that took place in the English town of Poynton that faced similar problems where high traffic flows across multiple lanes through an important part of their town negatively impacted on the amenity and functionality of that space. They narrowed the road, removed traffic signals and reintroduced a human scale to their town centre. Their response was bold, challenged many perceptions of how to manage vehicular traffic in an urban environment and it worked. Perhaps this is how we should be thinking when considering a response to our own urban design issues. While the Council did not at the time suggest this as a response to Dent Street, it would certainly transform an area where layer upon layer of traditional traffic management solutions have managed the movement of traffic but not the functioning of the space. I have added the web-link for anyone interested to see more. http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2013/04/lots-cars-and-trucks-no-traffic-signs-or-lights-chaos-or-calm/5152/