 The Beehive from Whitmore Street. This end of the street was closed from 1918 to 1969 | |
 | |
| Maintained by | Wellington City Council |
|---|---|
| Length | 300 m (980 ft) |
| Location | Pipitea, Wellington |
| Coordinates | 41°16′49″S 174°46′40″E / 41.28038523587319°S 174.7777125242694°E |
| South end | Customhouse/Waterloo Quay |
| North end | Lambton Quay |
Whitmore Street is at the boundary of the central business district and the government buildings area of Wellington, New Zealand's capital. The street runs almost north-south and is one of those linking Lambton Quay, Wellington's main shopping street, with Stout Street, Featherston Street and the harbourside at Customhouse/ Waterloo Quay. It is in the suburb of Pipitea.
Most of the buildings don't have their main entrance on Whitmore St and the largest two are in brutalist style, but the northern part of the street is in the Stout St heritage area.[1] Trees were added to the street in 1899[2] and three pohutukawas are now listed as heritage trees.[3] Asphalt chambers were added in 1897,[4] footpaths in 1904[5] and the street first had mechanised paving laid in 1939.[6] The view down Whitmore St is protected as a viewshaft.[7]
All the streets in the area, except Customhouse/Waterloo Quay have had a 30 km/h (19 mph)[8] speed limit since 19 July 2020.[9]
In 2017 over 13,000 pedestrians a day were on Whitmore St and up to 41,000 crossed it,[10] mostly to and from the railway station,[11] some 4,180 of them in the morning peak. Average daily traffic was about 17,800 vehicles a day.[12] Between 2012 and 2017 there were 25 crashes,[13] but from 2000 to 2022 there were 47 crashes at the junction with Lambton Quay, 20 at Stout St, 53 at Featherston St and 35 at Waterloo Quay.[14] In 2018 changes were made to remove 7 car parks to improve traffic flow and safety[12] and in 2021 crossing times for pedestrians were improved.[15] In 2016 a light pole fell across the street, possibly due to earthquake damage.[16]
- ^ "Stout Street Precinct – Wellington Heritage". www.wellingtoncityheritage.org.nz. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "NEW ZEALAND MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 22 June 1899. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ "Heritage List: Areas, Buildings, Objects, Trees & Maori Sites" (PDF). Wellington City. 4 May 2021.
- ^ "THE CORPORATION ESTIMATES. NEW ZEALAND MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 8 July 1897. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
- ^ "CITY COUNCIL. NEW ZEALAND TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 17 June 1904. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ "NEW CITY APPROACH. EVENING POST". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1 July 1939. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
- ^ "Wellington City District Plan Appendix 11. Central Area Viewshafts" (PDF).
- ^ "Central City Safer Speed Limit – Map and Proposed Streets" (PDF).
- ^ "Wellington CBD speed limits change to 30km/h on Sunday 19 July » Let's Get Wellington Moving". lgwm.nz. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
- ^ "Data Report" (PDF). Let's Get Wellington Moving. 28 August 2017.
- ^ "Assisting pedestrian traffic EVENING POST". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 31 May 1934. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
- ^ a b Devlin, Collette (11 May 2018). "Car parks chopped as Wellington Council vote to make Whitmore St safer". Stuff. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
- ^ "Whitmore Street – Lambton Quay to Waterloo Quay/Customhouse Quay Proposal: Road safety and intersection improvements" (PDF). Wellington City Council. 20 September 2017.
- ^ "Crash Analysis System". maphub.nzta.govt.nz. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
- ^ "Intersection safety improvements start – first spade in the ground for Let's Get Wellington Moving". lgwm.nz. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
- ^ "Toppled light stops Wellington traffic". RNZ. 21 December 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
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