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The Spinoff
a day ago
- The Spinoff
Kerb your enthusiasm: Why are Aucklanders in such a hurry to cross the road?
As more and more distractions fill our roads, Aucklanders still insist on flouting the red man. It's a busy, busy day on Queen Street and everyone has somewhere to be. Construction workers walk three abreast, a chorus line of high-vis and hard hats, past suit-wearing businesspeople taking urgent calls. Teenagers in big pants dodge tourists lugging telephoto lenses. The momentum grinds to a halt as the lights change, the little red man blinking threateningly. 'Don't even think about it,' he warns, signalling thou shalt not pass. But pass people do, seizing their mortality in their own hands, past all of the cars, trucks, vans and Ford Rangers. Some, understanding the urgency and, perhaps, the risk of getting caught, decide to dash across quickly, fast-twitch muscles engaged. Others take their time. Their rebellion isn't just against the laws of physics and Part 11 of the Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004, it's against time itself. Then there are the strategists, familiar with the light phases and seconds between changeovers, they've got it all down to a fine art. The very boldest of jaywalkers just go for it regardless, eyeballing the drivers as they pass, free of shame or regret; they're not in a hurry to get somewhere, they'd just rather not have a light tell them what to do. Jaywalking is a little act of rebellion. Is that why we do it, to kick back against rules and regulations, or demonstrate unimpeded agency? (OK, maybe Jean-Jacques Rousseau was right, but that doesn't stop us from stepping off the kerb to freedom.) As far as crimes go, it might be the easiest one to commit, with little planning required and no collusion. And besides, it doesn't feel very illegal. And surely a humble pedestrian deserves to go first? They do overseas. In France, motorists are 'obligated to yield' to people crossing the street or 'clearly manifesting' plans to do so. On Aotearoa's roadways, where vehicles have right of way, jaywalking is a pastime that transcends race, creed, gender and income bracket; everyone's got somewhere to be. Besides, when are you jaywalking (illegal) and when are you simply crossing the road (chill as)? If you're within 20 metres of a 'pedestrian crossing or school crossing point, an underpass, or a footbridge' or ignoring a red crossing light at an intersection, you are indeed breaking the law, and may face a $35* fine. Outside of that you're all good, just so long as you cross at a right angle to the kerb or road (clause 11.4), meaning no diagonals, zigzags or any funny business. However, cross, or even just walk along, a motorway and you'll be looking at paying hundreds of dollars. You're risking more than a fine though; crossing the road is pretty much playing bullrush, but with cars. Five pedestrians were killed in the first month of 2025. The majority of pedestrian injuries happen on urban roads – usually while crossing – and over half happen within 2km of the person's home. In Auckland, a third of road fatalities are pedestrians, and the region accounts for 41% of the country's hospitalised pedestrians. As New Zealand Medical Journal experts have pointed out, 'it is well established that pedestrian and road injury risks are disproportionately borne by tamariki Māori and Pacific children, older people, disabled people, rural communities and residents of socio-economically disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods. Many of these groups have lower access to cars but are more likely to be injured by them'. How fast a car is going when it hits you influences your chance of surviving, and 'the survivability of pedestrians involved in a crash with a vehicle has been shown to increase significantly at impact speeds of 30km/h '. Speed limits have gone down, and then (for 1,500 streets) up again. Crossing a designated shared space is designed to be safer; vehicles have to give way to you, but in turn you 'must not unduly impede the passage of any vehicle'. You can't just stand there, considering the burden of human existence while looking at the Sky Tower, nor can you loiter on designated crossings or roadways. Shared zones encourage a more leisurely speed of all users. There are no kerbs or road markings, but there might be surprising things like seats, bollards and pot plants. The idea is that these create an ' intentional level of ambiguity ' that elicits caution (and, in some cases, confusion) from vehicles and pedestrians, slowing them down. In these ambiguous zones, cyclists and drivers are ' legally required to give way to pedestrians' (though a 2017 report showed Elliot Street motorists only 'yielded' to pedestrians 28% of the time). There have been calls for years to get cars out of the city centre entirely. Plans for pedestrian-only malls (an idea far older than motor vehicles) have been wheeled back, and temporary compromises flirted with – like those funky circles dotted around the CBD. Federal Street and Shortland Street have polka dots designating… something. It's different, it's unusual. And that's the point. Intended as a ' traffic calming measure ', they're designed to slow traffic down, though vehicles legally have the right of way. Not everyone's a fan. Auckland Transport captured anti-spot sentiment in 2019, noting 'almost every person who found the dots confusing or distracting also disliked the painted dots generally' with one respondent likening them to a 'playschool aesthetic'. With enough motivation, you can experience (and flout) all kinds of spaces in one block of the CBD: jaywalk across the Queen Street intersection, ignoring the flashing red lights and turning cars as everyone loves to do, past the zebra crossing and onto the funky polka dots of Shortland Street, dodging confused drivers until you get to Jean Batten Place, a shared zone, where you'll finally have right of way, freedom. You're in the thick of things, walking across the city's bustling streets like a busy, societally engaged Richard Scarry character. For such a real-world activity – stepping in front of thousands of kilograms of metal, glass and rubber going 30km/h, if you're lucky – there's a considerable cohort of jaywalkers that are digitally orientated. Earphones in and the world around them silenced, their eyes are locked onto the device in their hands (something important, no doubt). Head down, focused, they walk out onto the road where, faces illuminated by a glowing screen on their dashboards, drivers are focused too. We do it because it's convenient and we're impatient. Certain nothing bad could happen to us, we step off the kerb and into traffic. We assume they'll stop for us. Should they? Will they? There's only one way to find out.
NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
The Great New Zealand Road Trip 2025 – Nine Questions with Olympic and kayaking great Dame Lisa Carrington
Our house backs on to a pocket of native bush, and over the past year my husband and I have become more involved in conserving the area, especially a little waterway near our property that we've been helping to restore. It's been so cool to see it gradually come back to life. I reckon people would be surprised to know that in such a built-up part of Auckland's North Shore there are still these quiet, natural spaces thriving and we can all do our part to protect them. Lisa Carrington wins gold in the women's Kayak Single 500m gold medal final at the Paris Olympics in 2024. Photo / Photosport What are your passions? The environment, sport, health, the ocean and coffee. Which New Zealander (alive or dead) do you most admire – and why? I admire many Kiwis, but Yvette Williams stands out for me. As the first New Zealand woman to win an Olympic gold medal, she was a true pioneer for women's sport in this country. Her achievements have inspired so many of us to strive for excellence. What is your idea of perfect happiness? I'm not sure there's such a thing as perfect happiness – but for me, happiness is about accepting things as they are and being present in the moment. What is your greatest fear? Probably not being close to the ocean. It's always been a big part of my life and where I feel most at ease. What is it that you most dislike? Missing out on adventures. Sometimes, when I've been training hard, racing overseas, or caught up with work, I have to prioritise rest. It can be tough watching fun moments pass me by. Top honour: Dame Lisa Carrington with the Administrator of the Government (acting Governor General) Dame Susan Glazebrook at her investiture ceremony at Parliament House in Wellington. What is on your bucket list? Travelling just for leisure! I'd love to visit Tahiti, take a campervan trip around New Zealand, and spend six months to a year living in another country ... soaking it all in and just enjoying life. What do you hope/think NZ will look like in 10 years? I hope we have a strong, shared connection to Māori culture and to each other. I'd love to see our endangered species recovering, and our native environment – both land and ocean – in a healthier, more protected state. Editor-at-large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand's most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME, including managing editor, NZ Herald editor and Herald on Sunday editor.
NZ Herald
6 days ago
- NZ Herald
NZ hotel occupancy lags pre-Covid levels, North-South gap widens
'Demand has started to turn positive again, which is a good sign, but it is not matching the supply growth, and therefore, why you've seen the occupancy declines we have seen across the country.' The Aotearoa Hotel Industry Conference and Exhibition is being hosted at Christchurch's Te Pae convention centre. Compared to other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, New Zealand's performance remained relatively flat, while countries like Australia, Japan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam had recovered strongly. New Zealand is performing better than countries like Thailand, Singapore and China, although there are several domestic factors influencing those locations. Burke said that summer 2025 was quite good in terms of rebounding but New Zealand's monthly occupancy levels and average daily rates for hotel rooms had become more seasonal than ever before. 'When you look at occupancy over the longer term, the impact of that supply and the sluggish nature of the demand recovery overall has meant that occupancy is nudging closer to the long-term average in the summer months, but certainly is still lagging and becoming more seasonal across New Zealand at large through winter and spring.' During the winter months, tourist numbers typically drop despite the diverse range of tourism operators and opportunities that continue to operate year-round. Over the next three years, Tourism New Zealand will be focused on growing off-peak visitation, according to its 2024-2028 strategy overview. Regional breakdown Across five of New Zealand's major tourism locations, Rotorua has had the strongest recovery over the current year to date because of an influx of international visitors and strong domestic tourism coming from Aucklanders. Christchurch had seen a small amount of growth. Burke said that demand had been growing at a healthy rate for a long period of time. The Garden City is also set to benefit from the opening of One New Zealand Stadium in April 2026, which has coincided with a spiking of forward occupancy rates in the same month. Queenstown, meanwhile, has also seen year-to-date growth, but demand has turned negative in the first half of 2025 on a year-on-year basis for each month. Burke said one thing that boded well for Christchurch and Queenstown in the medium term was the lack of rooms currently under construction, which won't drive a higher level of supply compared to the demand. STR regional director for APAC (ex China), Matthew Burke, presented data on New Zealand's hotel market during the Aotearoa Hotel Industry Conference and Exhibition event in Christchurch. Auckland and Wellington, however, are where there is cause for concern, as both occupancy levels and average daily rates are in the negative. Wellington has had its demand level decline for a considerable amount of time, although it did briefly grow during December 2024 and January 2025. 'Essentially, Wellington has had no new rooms recently, but because demand has just been negative, it's meant that occupancies decline and the average rate has come under pressure.' Burke said Wellington's woes could mostly be attributed to weekday business and the city's local economy, which had come under pressure following the Government's cuts to the public service and use of consultants. Auckland had had a consistent level of new supply coming to the market, but falling demand in the city was a 'recipe for occupancy decline,' Burke said. Around 50 of the 71 properties in Auckland were recording negative occupancy growth and negative average rate growth. There had also been a change in the mix of new supply, with strong growth in the luxury class of hotels. 'Upscale hotels in Auckland have actually had the least amount of new supply in the five and a half years since 2019.' Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger had a keynote speech at the Aotearoa Hotel Industry Conference and Exhibition, welcoming attendees to the Garden City. Burke said it's a collective demand problem influencing both occupancy level and average daily rates, where fewer events and more discretionary business were influencing the decline. Next year the new New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) is due to open, providing a draw card for visitors. The NZICC is set to host 15,500 people at nine major conferences in Auckland over the next few years, with an estimated economic impact of roughly $34 million. In the shorter term, over the next 90 days, forward occupancy looks set to decline except for two spikes during which the All Blacks will be hosting test matches at Eden Park. Burke said the largest influence on Auckland's performance was the CBD area. Separating Auckland into the harbour front precinct, airport zone and CBD, Auckland's CBD has had the most new rooms open, but average rates and occupancy levels are lower today than they were in 2019. Burke stressed the need for a diversified mix of demand in terms of upscale accommodation versus mid-to-low level options to drive demand. 'It's even more critical when you get to the softer months, everyone is impacted in terms of year-over-year drops this year, but it is especially felt in the rest of the CBD area.' Forecast for next summer Looking ahead to the upcoming summer season, Queenstown is set to have the highest occupancy of the five cities, followed closely by Rotorua. However, Queenstown's occupancy rates are 7% lower than the same time last year. Burke said there were very different trends between the North and South Islands. He said occupancy levels in New Zealand were becoming more seasonal, and the data broadly points to stagnant growth without intervention. 'The data is predicting a very similar pattern moving forward, but the one piece of good news is that there is more demand drivers and more infrastructure to come. 'If it's supported by marketing programmes to get people travelling through, then we should start to see more demand, more occupancy, and the chance to start to lift average rates.' Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.
