A letter to the Corinthians.

[McDuck]

In Auckland.
In Albany.
Not far from the mega mall.
There is a street called Corinthian drive.

It was farmland just a few years ago.
Only one three story business block stood on the top of the hill.
A bit lonely.
Except for a rather dried out old tree, that poked up, mast like, from a nearby mound.

But not for long.
Soon all manner of ugly concrete business blocks were packed into almost every spare space.

But wait.
Had the council thought their building consents through?
Had they ever wondered how all those floors with all those desks would be used?
Had they actually done their job?
Had they planned for a functional area?

When a few of the buildings were built, the streets were tight for parking.
When half of them were built, it was obvious they were at capacity.
Would a developer ever loose land, by supplying their own carparks?
Odds say no.

Yesterday I visited that street again.
Cars were still parked on the grass verges in desperation.
Fortunately it wasn't wet, so the grass verges were not mud holes.

But, something new had appeared!
Solar powered parking meters.
They dotted the footpaths every so often.

Is that it?
Is that the only tool?
Is that how a city plans for effective functionality?

Don't like it, tax it?

Really?

I'm trying hard not to write them all off as bumbling incompetent fools.
But its not easy.

[donna]

So there's no parking building? Maybe you're supposed to use the lime scooter to get to and fro work.

[Davo36]

So there's no parking building?

Yes this is what he's saying, I think. Hard to tell.

[McDuck]

So there's no parking building? Maybe you're supposed to use the lime scooter to get to and fro work.

Sorry Donna.
Life got me distracted, you know how it is.

You can use google maps (on satellite view) to get a feel for the street.
Basically, the level of organisation needed to make any area functional, is larger than each building can achieve.
It needs an overview from council.

That's what they take our taxes to do.

See if you can use google maps to figure out where all the cars are coming from.
Remember those buildings are multi story, and that google maps image is old.
So it shows the point where the area is just, and only just functional.

[Davo36]

For anyone who cares, this is the area he is talking about:



I dunno McDuck, where do the cars come from? Please do tell!!!

[McDuck]

Oh hey Davo.

Where do the cars come from?
Well, when a mommy car loves a daddy car very very much... no wait, that's babies.

I guess the cars came with the buildings.
On account of the fact that, as the building size and number increased, so did the cars parked on every spare bit of public ground.

I was thinking that there must be enough electricity for those buildings, and enough water, and enough waste removal, but there doesn't seem to be enough parking.

Is it that the council is blind to this essential process in the life of an area?
Or is it some evil revenue collecting plan, as a lady at a petrol station told me last week?
Or is it just another case of an employer externalising costs on to their employees in yet another sneaky way?

There are some good, if unsettling, remedies to all of these forms of antisocial behavior.

Maybe you have another idea?

PS , I just chose this road because I liked the name, it was a bit biblical. it could have been any Auckland road, or even any council responsibility.
The key factors are the same.

[donna]

I think new Buildings should come with their own parking levels and have enough parking per a percentage of occupiers or there's a parking building within easy walking distance of these new office blocks and commercial developments.

It's much like how Councils are keen to grow new suburbs - (some, in the middle of nowhere) and there's not even a dairy yet alone a supermarket etc.

We have seen that in beach towns that have grown from a few bachs to streets of homes - and you have to travel 5KM to get to a shop.

cheers,

Donna

[Davo36]

Well councils certainly have rules around parking.

But they kind be a bit ideological, like many of the staff there think everyone should ride a bike or catch a bus or train for instance.

And in the Auckland CBD there are sometimes limits put on the number of car parks you can put in a new building. Yes, they won't allow you to put in too many, because the don't want the traffic there.

With the Corinthian Dr places, I'd imagine they put in the fewest possible - because they cost a lot to provide and I guess developers and building owners and tenants want to be able to take advantage of the public parking as much as possible.

I do get your point though McDuck. I guess things like water, electricity etc. are easier to provide than car parking.

[flyernzl]

I

It's much like how Councils are keen to grow new suburbs - (some, in the middle of nowhere) and there's not even a dairy yet alone a supermarket etc.

We have seen that in beach towns that have grown from a few bachs to streets of homes - and you have to travel 5KM to get to a shop.

cheers,

Donna

Back in the 1950s there was a requirement that all new subdivisions had to include a small block of shops - one each for the butcher, the baker and the grocery.
This was, of course, before most homes had a refrigerator and access to a motor vehicle. The housewife (who was of course at home all day) could therefore walk to the shops several times a week.
Since the advent of supermarkets and cheap cars you go around those subdivisions today all those retailers have gone and the block probably houses a hairdresser, a tatty second-hand store and a takeaway. Some of the worst now sit there empty.

[Bob Kane]

Well councils certainly have rules around parking.

But they kind be a bit ideological, like many of the staff there think everyone should ride a bike or catch a bus or train for instance.

And in the Auckland CBD there are sometimes limits put on the number of car parks you can put in a new building. Yes, they won't allow you to put in too many, because the don't want the traffic there.

I think many councils restrict car parking as much as they can - some won't allow new car parking buildings to be built at all.
They just hate cars.
Their other trick is to build roads around the cbd to have congestion to slow every one down and discourage cars in the cbd.
They do this by have traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, give way and stop signs everywhere.
The greens on the councils have even called for more pedestrian crossing to make the city people friendly.
Of course, this just causes gridlock.
The greens like this result.
You don't need to wonder why congestion is bad in cbds.
It's been carefully planned to be like that.

[flyernzl]

Agreed.
I wont even go into the Auckland CBD any more.
If I was a Queen Street retailer (are there any left?) I'd be hopping mad right now.

[McDuck]

I think new Buildings should come with their own parking levels and have enough parking per a percentage of occupiers or there's a parking building within easy walking distance of these new office blocks and commercial developments.

It's much like how Councils are keen to grow new suburbs - (some, in the middle of nowhere) and there's not even a dairy yet alone a supermarket etc.

We have seen that in beach towns that have grown from a few bachs to streets of homes - and you have to travel 5KM to get to a shop.

cheers,

Donna

Hi Donna.

I agree too.
You've hit the nail on the head there.

With this particular Corinthian example, I wonder what will happen with the remaining land. (See kindly provided map).
If this continues, it will only become more dysfunctional.

At the end of the day, there is always a person making the final decision.
I wonder who that person is, and are they doing their job right.
Could there even be some sort of pressure or incentive for them to swing the decision away from public functionality, and toward private profit?

[DaveW]

.
Since the advent of supermarkets and cheap cars you go around those subdivisions today all those retailers have gone and the block probably houses a hairdresser, a tatty second-hand store and a takeaway. Some of the worst now sit there empty.

Often these types of properties are the best deals if in a decent location. With some renovation and a change or addition of tenancies a small fortune can be made.

[McDuck]

Agreed.
I wont even go into the Auckland CBD any more.
If I was a Queen Street retailer (are there any left?) I'd be hopping mad right now.

Hi Flyer.
Same here.

And don't forget about the parking meters.
on Corinthian drive , as most places, the council have put Parking Meters.

They have effectively rewarded themselves for poor performance.
Given themselves a revenue stream for getting it wrong.

It would be like praising an employee for always getting to work late, or doing a bad job.
Like giving a school kid higher marks for getting more test answers wrong.

Its a weird kind of mirror world , where dysfunction is rewarded.