An update on High Street

Auckland Council has asked us to share some changes planned for High Street in response to concerns about maintenance and tidiness in the area.

Over the next couple of months, Council will review the shared waste bin and how frequently rubbish, and recycling is collected and upgrade the current planter boxes. You can find more details about these changes below.

What you need to know

• From Wednesday 21 June, an extra 4 pm daily recycling/cardboard collection will be introduced, and the shared waste bin will be removed for a 6-week trial
   
• From 26 June, planters will be removed on the eastern side of High Street, at the Shortland Street end and this is proposed to be converted back to loading (how to give feedback on this is outlined below)
   
• In July, the other existing planters will be replaced with more attractive low-maintenance planters, as well as maintenance undertaken for the boardwalk
   
• After 31 July, a decision will be made on the outcome of the trialled changes to waste collection, following consideration of feedback from the community.

More information:

Waste Collection

The shared waste collection bin outside 10 High Street was originally put in place to:

• Support businesses that close in the afternoon with no way to get waste out for the 5 pm collection
• Reduce the impact of large volumes of waste in key locations such as Vulcan Lane.

Some businesses have raised concerns about graffiti and tidiness. The bin has been damaged and needs to be taken away for repairs. It will be removed on Wednesday 21 June, for around 6 weeks.

While the bin is away for repairs, Auckland Council will be trialling an additional 4 pm collection for High Street. From Wednesday 21 June for a six-week period, the times your waste can be put out for collection are:

Mon - Sat

• From 5 pm - 5.30 pm;
• NEW trial collection: 4 pm, for recycling and cardboard only, to be put out just before 4 pm.
• 12am (midnight) - 4am

Sunday

• From 12am (midnight) - 4am

Putting out your waste

• Please place your rubbish placed neatly at the kerbside, not blocking the footpath, doorways or litter bins
• Businesses on Vulcan Lane that use the waste bin put their rubbish on the corner of High Street and Vulcan Lane, opposite the waste bin location.
• Only orange Auckland Council rubbish bags, clear Auckland Council recycling bags, and cardboard are put out for collection. Any other item put on the footpath (except for private contractor bins and pre-paid bags) is treated as illegal dumping for which instant fines up to $400 are payable.
• Please wrap food scraps and consider putting your rubbish in a standard rubbish bag before putting it into a Council bag, to prevent leakage and deter birds and vermin.

More information about dealing with waste in the city centre is available here. During the 6-week trial period, Council will monitor the street to check for footpath obstruction and waste accumulation.

Businesses and property owners on High Street are encouraged to provide feedback to Council via highst@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz. We will also conduct a short survey to get feedback from businesses at the end of the trial.

At the end of the trial period (31 July 2023) Auckland Council, in consultation with Heart of the City and informed by the street monitoring and community feedback received, will decide whether the:

• Additional 4 pm recycling/cardboard collection should continue, and/or
• shared waste bin should be reinstated on the street.

Planter Boxes

The current planters on High Street will be replaced with more attractive, low-maintenance options.

In places where the current round concrete planters serve a safety purpose, such as preventing vehicles from accessing the footpath, they will be replaced with planters similar to the ones used on Queen Street.

Next week, during the week of June 26, Council will be permanently removing the planters on the eastern side of High Street at the Shortland Street end - the area shaded yellow below. To ensure a safe and functional use of the space once the planters are gone, Council needs to make a minor procedural change.

Currently, this area has a legal status as a footpath, but Council is proposing to convert it into three P5 loading zones and this is subject to feedback from the community. If you have a view on this proposal please share this to highstreet@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz 

The current rectangular planters along the western side of High Street will be upgraded to look better and make sure they’re effective at deterring vehicles on the boardwalk.

The planter work is planned for July, and Council will also take the opportunity to make repairs to the boardwalk at the same time.

Future plans for High Street

Auckland Council has started the planning process for future investment of High Street and will be engaging with the High Street community as part of the planning process later this year.

Questions?

If you have any questions or feedback about the changes, including the proposed reinstatement of loading near Shortland Street, contact the Auckland Council project team direct at highst@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz  or feel free to get in touch with us at info@hotcity.co.nz or (09) 379 8000.