Radich’s desire for George St flexibility denied

A revamp of Dunedin’s main shopping street can carry on, after an attempt to prompt a mid-project redesign flopped.

Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich has consistently advocated for "flexibility" to be added into the George St upgrade in case converting three blocks to one-way traffic produces disappointing results, but he did not quite have the numbers yesterday to further this cause.

During an at-times fiery meeting of the Dunedin City Council’s infrastructure services committee, an attempt not to accept a council staff report failed and then a request for more information to be supplied in just a week was voted down.

The margin of both votes was 9-8.

It was unclear last night if the mayor’s push for flexibility had hit a speed bump or reached the end of the road.

Mr Radich was unavailable for comment after the meeting.

The meeting itself produced lively exchanges and points of order and the mayor was at one point seemingly on the verge of being ejected by committee chairman Jim O’Malley.

The dispute related to the way Mr Radich framed what council staff had presented.

It was resolved by Mr Radich withdrawing a statement.

His broader point was council staff had provided significantly more information about what allowing for two-way traffic with a 30kmh speed limit might entail, but other ways to promote a flexible design were explored less.

The council was divided into committee members who argued "future-proofing" the project by potentially adding flexibility was better late than never, and those who said the revamp must be allowed to continue in the form previously decided.

Cr Lee Vandervis suggested deferring surface treatment in two stretches of George St — the New Edinburgh Way block and what is now known as the Malls block between St Andrew St and Hanover St.

The public would later be able to compare the completed one-way Farmers block with the two-way Knox block and see which was best, he said.

Construction activity has begun in the Malls block of George St, Dunedin. Photo: Stephen Jaquiery
Construction activity has begun in the Malls block of George St, Dunedin. Photo: Stephen Jaquiery
Cr O’Malley said the cost of delaying the project for a redesign would be between $2 million and $5 million.

Cr Christine Garey said efforts to flip-flop were undermining the council’s credibility.

"Stop messing about with this project. The design has been made. Let’s just get on with it."

Ngai Tahu was a key contributor to design and she did not want the cultural narrative to be disrupted, Cr Garey said.

Cr Mandy Mayhem lauded a street environment that would be pleasant for pedestrians.

"Do it once. Do it right. Do it now," she said.

Cr Steve Walker was unimpressed by the mid-project debate, saying "I can’t believe we’re here yet again".

Cr Brent Weatherall said the development looked attractive, but he doubted it would produce the right results.

The possibility of future expense to reverse changes should be mitigated, he and Cr Bill Acklin argued.

Cr David Benson-Pope said it was ironic the council was arguing vociferously against a redesign of the city’s new hospital at the same time as some of its members were open to a George St redesign.

The council voted 8-7 in December to ask staff to explore how flexibility might be incorporated into the remainder of the project.

Mana whenua representatives on the committee Donna Matahaere-Atariki and Marlene McDonald proved to be crucial in yesterday’s result.

For requesting more information about potential flexibility (8): Mayor Jules Radich, Crs Lee Vandervis, Bill Acklin, Kevin Gilbert, Carmen Houlahan, Cherry Lucas, Brent Weatherall, Andrew Whiley. Against (9): Crs Jim O’Malley, David Benson-Pope, Marie Laufiso, Sophie Barker, Christine Garey, Steve Walker, Mandy Mayhem, Ms Marlene McDonald, Ms Donna Matahaere-Atariki.

grant.miller@odt.co.nz

 

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