Auckland's Queen St to get a $23m soul

Traffic would be discouraged by reducing the number of traffic lanes from two to one in each direction, banning private parking along much of the Queen St mile and moving taxi ranks to other streets.

The plan is part of a blueprint by the Auckland City Council for the downtown area that includes sprucing up Quay St and Lorne St, building a $68 million indoor arena at Quay Park on the waterfront and a $200 million-plus heritage makeover at Britomart.

The Queen St project is aimed at injecting heart and soul into the shopping, entertainment, cultural and education precinct from Karangahape Rd to Custom St.

Read More - Opens in a new window