This weekend, they're putting a temporary barrier at the bottom of High St. From 10.30am each day, vehicles won't be able to get in. A street festival will start up at midday in Freyberg Square. Cool music, food stalls, fun for kids, and all the retailers of High St, O'Connell St, Vulcan Lane and the rest of that little precinct out with their stalls. Kicking off the Christmas shopping season. High time, right? High St will be packed with people, on foot, not trying to squeeze past the damn cars but, instead, having a great shopping and recreational experience. Come Sunday, the day of the Santa Parade, it will be even busier and even more fun. Actually, sorry. None of that is happening. But why not? Advertisement Advertise with NZME. High St is the outstanding example of what goes wrong in Auckland when city planning isn't done right. And now so much planning is under way, now the city centre is changing so much, it's more important than ever to address the things that undermine the quality of what we get. - www.nzherald.co.nz