Queenstown's council is trialling a ‘shared zone’ in Arrowtown’s Buckingham St.
The one-way street will be closed to vehicles from this coming Monday till May 13 while a speed pad is put down at the entrance, and a bike-parking area’s installed.
The project’s been three years in the making and comes after residents and businesses raised safety concerns with the council.
It’s part of wider intersection improvements around the village, financed via ‘minor improvement project’ funding.
While Buckingham St’s closed, council’s trialling what it would look like if the street prioritised pedestrians, similar to Queenstown’s Rees St.
Arrowtown Promotion & Business Association (APBA) manager Nicky Busst says it’s "really positive" the council’s undertaking the trial and is a "big step in engaging our business and resident community on what they would like to see".
"Based on feedback gathered from APBA members over the past two years, there is a preference on pursuing a shared space on Buckingham St, with provision for mobility/disabled parking."
Feedback on the street becoming a permanent shared zone can be provided via the ‘Let’s Talk’ tab at qldc.govt.nz
— Olivia Judd
