Kōrero: Street life

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.