The Dunedin City Council announced on Thursday it had reintroduced nine carparks to the design of its Albany St Connection project along two areas on the northern side of the street.
Mr Radich said yesterday there was "clearly quite a distinct amount of unhappiness" about previous consultation that proposed removing 68 carparks.
"Not just from the business owners I talked to, but others as well.
"So, it’s only appropriate that the various people who aren’t satisfied, who are key stakeholders on that street, that they have the proper consultation."
The business owners he had spoken with represented "quite a number" of those in the street.
"I suppose I was a conduit to bring the thoughts of various business owners to the meeting."
At an infrastructure services committee meeting last month, Mr Radich raised concerns from stakeholders who wanted more consultation on the project.
He had been contacted by Albany St business owners — whom he later told the meeting were Jason La Hood and Greg Paterson — who were "under the expectation there was going to be some additional consultation with them about the parking and the set-up for the road".
"They’re certainly not of the opinion that they’ve had that."
Mr La Hood said he was grateful council staff were re-engaging so affected business owners could provide feedback.
Leith Liquorland owner Chris Hart, whose business is on the corner of Albany and Leith Sts, said last week was the first time he had been approached for consultation by the council.
He was "delighted" there was a new consultation period.
"So this next process will be really, really interesting, whether they actually want to engage with the stakeholders of the area or just do their own thing again, like they did last time."
While the nine carparks were "nice", Mr Hart said he was concerned traffic congestion could be driven towards Dunedin Hospital.
He believed the carparks were to appease businesses.
"I’m happy to be proven right in the fact that there was no consultation period for a starter and now they’ve had to go back and reopen it up."
In response to criticism from Mr Hart last month, council transport group manager Jeanine Benson said it had consulted on the Albany St Connection project in 2022, when it received 113 submissions, and in 2023.
"Since the [April] 2024 consultation was delayed, we have been focusing on revising our design for the project to accommodate the concerns raised previously."
While there had been some delays to the project, compared with the original timeline, the council recognised the importance of working with various parties who had an interest in the work "to make sure we get it right for our community".
The project aims to provide a safe walking and cycling connection between the shared Te Aka Ōtākou harbour path, Dunedin’s tertiary area and the CBD.
Public consultation will take place until August 7 regarding suggested parking restrictions, the council said.
