One block of George St has been transformed into a pedestrian-oriented space with slow-speed one-way traffic, but the Dunedin City Council voted 8-7 yesterday to support investigating adding "flexibility" to the remainder of the redevelopment.
Councillors moved to at least preserve the realistic possibility of reverting to two-way traffic for two blocks if it turns out one-way traffic delivers disappointing results in the retail heart of the city.
The look of the makeover has generally been praised, but introduction of garden beds in the redeveloped block is one element that has prompted debate about how easily, or cheaply, changes might be reversed.
Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich, who campaigned on seeking a review, said the redevelopment could have an impact for 50 years.
Retaining flexibility, potentially enabling two-way traffic again without great expense, could be quite important, he said.
He was worried Dunedin’s premier shopping street was in danger of losing that status, as people shopped elsewhere.
Both Mr Radich and Cr Bill Acklin said the mayor’s notice of motion did not call for a review, but an "update report" ahead of February’s infrastructure services committee meeting.
Reference to a review was a typographical error in the council order paper, Mr Radich said.
Cr Jim O’Malley, who voted against requesting a report, raised concerns about the stability of the council’s decision-making processes.
"How can we build large and complex projects if we constantly go back and reassess design?"
The previous council backed a one-way design and then construction began in April this year.
Cr Marie Laufiso was worried about the potential for compromising mana whenua designs.
Cr Christine Garey said people loved what had been done so far and the council should stop revisiting designs.
Cr Brent Weatherall was concerned about traffic grid-lock at peak times.
Preserving the possibility of future design changes protected residents, he said.
Cr Lee Vandervis said the heart of Dunedin needed the arteries to it, or transport links, to be kept clear and flowing.
A 10kmh one-way stretch was "fair asking for a stent", he said.
"Don’t create an arterial blockage."
To stretch the heart analogy further, Cr Carmen Houlahan said the city needed an angiogram, or check-up.
Cr David Benson-Pope said one benefit of the one-way design was how much parking it allowed for.
The project was "a fine amenity development and needs to be progressed".
Cr Sophie Barker said the previous council received a lot of information before deciding to support the one-way concept.
Disability advocates last month lauded work done in the first block for improving accessibility and creating a more welcoming space.
Mr Radich said kerbing had been dispensed within the redeveloped block and this move could proceed in a two-way street, too.
It could be inferred from his decisive mayoralty win that there was strong popular support to at least "keep the flexibility of George St".
A second part of his motion, that the report would establish how the redevelopment project was tracking relative to budget and timeframes, was passed 11-4.
George St vote
That the council request an update report to establish how flexibility can be incorporated into the remainder of the project to minimise future expense if modification is deemed necessary:
For (8): Mayor Jules Radich, Crs Bill Acklin, Kevin Gilbert, Carmen Houlahan, Cherry Lucas, Lee Vandervis, Brent Weatherall, Andrew Whiley.
Against (7): Crs Sophie Barker, David Benson-Pope, Christine Garey, Marie Laufiso, Mandy Mayhem, Jim O’Malley, Steve Walker.
