Story: Street life

Lambton shuffle, 1977

Lambton shuffle, 1977

Taking pedestrians off streets increased congestion on footpaths, making them less pleasant places to stop and linger. Wellington’s Lambton Quay became notorious for its lunchtime crowds, where a slow-moving throng shuffled up and down the street. In 1977 engineers estimated that the street’s footpath required a minimum width of 5 metres to accommodate the high pedestrian count – 100 people per minute. At that time it was only 1.5 metres wide.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PAColl-7327)
Reference: EP/1977/1908/21

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Ben Schrader, 'Street life - Pedestrians give way to cars', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/20680/lambton-shuffle-1977 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Ben Schrader, published 11 Mar 2010