White Lady on the move

Auckland’s White Lady pie cart is to move from its lower Shortland Street location to operate from Commerce Street for the next three years.

The takeaway caravan is relocating because construction works are about to begin on the block of land bordered by Shortland Street, Queen Street, Fort Street and Jean Batten Place.

Multiplex is developing a 20-storey office block on the site for the Bank of New Zealand and needs to erect scaffolding on the footpath around this area. This means pedestrians will no longer be able to access the pie cart at the Shortland Street location.

Auckland City’s Manager of Environmental Health and Licensing, Chris Dee, says the council has liaised with the owner of the White Lady to find a suitable alternative site.

“We were keen to work with the White Lady to find a visible site that enabled it to continue to do business in a location that was not hazardous for nearby pedestrians or traffic.

“We’ve considered the needs of the proprietor and the community, and believe we’ve achieved an outcome that balances the needs of all parties during the construction period.

“The location on Commerce Street, where it meets Fort Street, is a site that’s safe and secure for patrons and other users of the CBD,” Mr Dee says.

Mr Dee says the council had to consider a number of different criteria in finding a suitable new site for the White Lady, including:

o pedestrian safety
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o traffic flow and safety
o
o ensuring the White Lady had access to water, electricity and disposal facilities
o
o the flow of patrons to and from the White Lady
o
o the impact on surrounding businesses.
o

Mr Dee says the impact on other businesses in Commerce Street should be minimal because the White Lady caters primarily for late evening and early morning takeaway diners.

The pie cart has a licence to operate between 7pm and 3am Monday to Thursday, and from 8pm on Friday until 3am on Monday.

Mr Dee says the relocation of the pie cart will also mean that five pay-and-display car parks on Commerce Street will not be available for use on Saturday and Sunday. Signs will be erected to inform motorists of the change.

A sign will also be erected at the White Lady’s former location on lower Shortland Street directing patrons to the pie cart’s new location on Commerce Street.

The White Lady will move from 1 August 2006 and will remain in its new location for the duration of the construction period, which is expected to last at least three years.

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