Wellington Police and Wellington City Council are advising the public to carefully plan their transport arrangements on Monday 23 August as traffic will be disrupted while the Enough is Enough march organised by the Destiny Church moves through the central city.
Inspector Paul Berry, Wellington Area operations manager, says police have been advised 6,000 -10,000 people are expected to walk from Civic Square to Parliament in a march against the Civil Union and Relationships legislation.
Traffic in the central business district will be disrupted for at least two hours from late morning. Willis Street from the Manners/Boulcott streets intersection up to Lambton Quay will be closed to all traffic. Northbound lanes on Lambton Quay and all of Mercer Street will be closed to traffic. The closures apply from 11am to 1pm.
Stagecoach buses that normally run along the ‘Golden Mile’ from Courtenay Place and the Railway Station will be diverted along the waterfront for the duration of the march. Trolley buses will be off the road by 10am.
Northbound Stagecoach services will use Jervois and Customhouse Quays while the march is taking place, with southbound services diverting up Taranaki Street. Once the march has cleared normal services will be resumed as quickly as possible.
Bus users should ring Ridewell on 801 7000 for bus information updates and for the location of the temporary bus stops.
Police and marshals will escort the march throughout for safety reasons and to minimise public inconvenience as much as possible.
March participants are expected to start gathering at Civic Square from 10.15am. The march to Parliament will start at 11.20am and will travel along the main bus route, taking in:
• Victoria Street, Mercer Streets, and Willis Street into Lambton Quay then into Parliament assembling behind barriers on the grass.
Police and the Wellington City Council advice is to allow plenty of time if you’re travelling through the CBD between 10am and 2pm.
The lower end of Molesworth Street will be closed off briefly while marchers access Parliament. It’s recommended motorists avoid the Parliament end of Lambton Quay during the lunchtime period, although the waterfront is a good alternative route to use once the march has entered Parliament. A second alternative route is through The Terrace tunnel to the southern and eastern suburbs.
Wellington City Council has also approved limited parking for marchers’ buses and other vehicles in Thorndon Quay on Monday. There will be limited public parking there during this time.
Inspector Berry says there has been consultation between police, Wellington City Council, march organisers and others including bus company Stagecoach in agreeing to the march route.
"Police are in the difficult position of balancing the right of people to lawful protest with the right of the general public to go about their business unimpeded," he says.
"It’s inevitable the march will impact on the public but we’re appealing for cool heads all round – from the march participants, commuters and others working or travelling through the city."
Ends
Media contacts:
Kaye Calder
Wellington Police District communications manager
Tel: 496 3464 or 0274 373 020
Richard MacLean
Media Relations Manager
Wellington City Council
Tel: 801 3578 or 027 445 3837