Downtown New Year's celebrations a glimpse of Auckland's future
A new year and new decade will arrive with a glimpse of the future as some downtown Auckland streets are closed to vehicles during New Year's Eve celebrations. Several streets will be restricted to pedestrians only between 10pm on New Year's Eve and 2am on New Year's Day, when festivities including street parties, family-friendly spaces, fireworks and light shows take place, destination general manager of Auckland Council's economic development arm, ATEED, Steve Armitage said. Queen and Albert streets will be closed to vehicles between Wellesley St and Wyndham St, and Victoria St will be closed between Hobson St and Kitchener St.
Several other smaller streets, including Durham and Darby, and Bowen Ave, will also be restricted to foot traffic. Some feeder streets are also affected, while Federal St will be closed to vehicles for 25 hours from 3am on New Year's Eve. Those parked within road closure areas, including parking buildings, would not be able to leave until the closures were lifted, in all cases except Federal St, at 2am, Armitage said. "Last year, Auckland Transport reported there was heavy vehicle congestion in the city centre for several hours either side of midnight, so we want to create a safer environment by closing a section of the roads." The closures were welcomed by city leaders. They would ensure people could enjoy the celebrations in a safe, enjoyable and pedestrian-friendly environment, Auckland mayor Phil Goff said, while his planning committee chairman, councillor Chris Darby, said it was what people wanted. "There is a real public appetite for rebalancing the city's streets to be places for people and not just through streets for cars. "These closures represent a vision of the future of Auckland's city centre." Other measures have also been put in place to support those choosing downtown Auckland as the place to welcome 2020. That included increased public transport after midnight, Armitage said. "There will be 31 additional bus services, more trains will operate on the Onehunga Line and Eastern Line (to Sylvia Park), and there will also be added ferry sailings between Auckland and Devonport." As for the festivities, they would be both varied and colourful - and he expected many people to gather to enjoy them. "It's clear from the past couple of years that the city centre is popular with locals and visitors alike on New Year's Eve, dispelling the belief that Auckland empties out over the holiday period." Light installations around the city will be switched on, including Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland Museum, Te Ara I Whiti - Light Path, the Sky Tower and the Harbour Bridge.
Vector Lights will sparkle on Auckland Harbour Bridge for a second year, displaying a fabulous light show from 9pm to 1am, Armitage said. "At the stroke of midnight, the lights will sync with the Sky Tower fireworks in a five-minute display of dancing colours." On Federal St, SkyCity would host Auckland's biggest New Year street party, from 5pm to midnight with Ladi6 and Chong Nee & Friends as the headline acts. And at Karanga Plaza and Wynyard Quarter, the council's urban planning department, Panuku Development had ensured an alcohol-free, whānau friendly space with fantastic views of the Sky Tower available. As well as Auckland's waterfront, other top locations for viewing the festivities in included Little Shoal Bay, Bayswater Marina, Mt Victoria, Queens Parade, Devonport, Bastion Point, Harbour View Beach Reserve, Te Atatū Peninsula, Sentinel Beach and Mt Eden.
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Poll: Should drivers retake the theory test every 10 years?
Drivers get where they need to go, but sometimes it seems that we are all abiding by different road rules (for example, the varying ways drivers indicate around a roundabout).
Do you think drivers should be required to take a quick driving theory test every 10 years?
Vote in the poll and share any road rules that you've seen bent! 😱
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49.5% Yes
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48.6% No
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1.9% Other - I'll share below
Here's Thursday's thinker!
I am lighter than air, but a hundred people cannot lift me. What am I?
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Why make picking up reserved library books harder? What do you think? Challenge: Write the last stanza for the first poem attached below.
Once books are reserved in Auckland Libraries books, when they are available no longer go alphabetically by customer but instead go into a Holds pickup shelf number based presumably somehow on when each book needs to be picked up by.
I had two books reserved that arrived on two different days in the Blockhouse Bay Library and hence each book has a different shelf number. Hard to find unless you knew the shelf number in the notification email. Even if you knew the shelf number I found myself three books by the same author on the two shelf numbers.
More recently yesterday a book I reserved was on a different shelf number than was specified in my notification email (see image below).
Sadly it is clear from library staff that a numerical system for reserves is here to stay.
I suggest that so that all books for each person has the same shelf number, the shelf number becomes the last digit of a person's library card (0-9).
Within each shelf number a book is found under the day the reserve arrives in the library (01 to 31, hopefully the same date the email is sent).
Since a customer appears to have 10 days to pick up a book, ten days of the month would appear to be required at any time (for each digit 0-9).
Once there are 10 days used the next day's reserves could go back at the beginning of the shelf number after any remaining books not collected (hopefully none) are removed (along with the old day number and the new day number (01 to 31) inserted) after the last day available and future days' books remaining moved forward to make room.
Each day number (01-31) would appear once for each shelf number (0-9) before the first book on that day- perhaps cover an old withdrawn book with paper with each day number on the spine?
When a reserved book arrives in the library the last digit of the library card could be placed on a piece of paper in the book to be removed when it is put on the shelf, to be recycled the next day.
What do you think?
See the image below and page 3 below for a letter appearing in the Western Leader on 9 September:
www.neighbourly.co.nz...
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