A sign has appeared on the wall of one of the Dunedin businessman’s central city buildings, suggesting there is no parking within 27km of the Octagon.
Mr Broad said the statement sign, which was installed yesterday and can be seen from the street by those driving down Stuart St towards the Octagon, was meant to be a talking point.
The future of parking in Dunedin’s city centre needed to be addressed, he said.
Parking available in the city had not kept up with other developments, such as the growth in retail, and the new hospital would only make matters worse, he said.
"If we want those things then we’re going to have to have some parking. It really is that simple."
Although alternative modes of transport, such as cycling, had their place, nothing could match the "point-to-point convenience" of a car.
More parking was not the only transport solution, but it was an important one, he said.
"If we drive the vehicles out, we’ll drive the people out and the businesses will follow."
People who wanted to park in town had to settle for as close as they could get, Mr Broad said.
Outram, 27km away, as indicated by the sign, was "not the best place to park" for those who wanted to head to the centre city, but he wanted the sign to suggest people might have to park there in the future, to spark the conversation.
"Instead of pretending it’s not an issue, let’s have a proper debate."
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You wait, "council" will deem it "offensive" and want it taken down.
Until you have a council that is willing to listen, then we will sort out transportation issues, maybe dig up those who developed the one-way system back in the 60s to cope with traffic volumes of the 90s, but has not been able to cope with volumes past the 2020s.
Incorrect messaging. There are always parks available near to the CBD or in it. It's folly to suggest otherwise. Learn to walk.
Agree entirely. I live in Dunedin Central and walk and bus as much as possible. A free 'Park and Ride' on the outskirts of the city, linked to free, speedy buses to the CBD should suit all but the disabled.
I agree too. I've never had a problem finding a space, only paying for it!
That's because you are a fit healthy individual who has no problems walking distances to get anywhere.......
Learn to walk? Some of you are completely out of touch. There is a reason the parks in the CBD aren't used as much as people would like. And that reason is COST. a huge amount of cars owned by CBD workers park in the industrial area because it's free. For those of you that are 'out of touch', that puts pressure on the industrial workers, many of which lug toolboxes and equipment around.
AJ and Nash, a point you are missing is that you can't carry much when you're walking up and down the street. A car carries the kids, the shopping and anything else you may buy. I'll drive into town, find a park, go shopping, load the car, then do some more shopping, load the car, have some lunch at a cafe, then head to Bunnings, Mitre10, load the car then head home, then if the kids have something on, in goes all the gear and away we go.
I'm often in town during the week, getting a park can sometimes be a nightmare. I make sure I leave plenty of time if I need to attend an appointment. Then I'll be back to Bunnings or Mitre10.
Catching a bus or cycling........yeah right. Some of you really don't consider the lives, commitments or needs of others.
The messaging about parking....is spot on.
Not that I made the comment, but there are very few people who walk any distance nowadays, if the number I meet walking home to Brockville are any indication. So, yeah, we do seem to have forgotten how to walk :-)
You might be surprised at what you can load into a decent backpack. For that matter, I can get a decent amount into my little day backpack, and I have hands for anything that is to large to fit. As for bigger loads: groceries - online / delivered if buying bulk. Building supplies, same. Taxis if I need to be somewhere unexpectedly quick. There are a lot of options, it's just that we've be so overtaken by 'the car is best' mindset that many of us can't imagine anything else. Sure, you can't just decide on a whim to wander across town with a few hundred kilos of impulse buying. But that has a fairly simple fix.
And yes, not everyone can do this. I know. But you can't honestly believe that all the people driving around on a normal day in town are doing so because they are unable to get around any other way. Personally, I always felt a little wasteful driving into town by myself just to get a bit of shopping done.
Amusing to note the picture seems to indicate several car parks near the sign.
The car-park area I'm most familiar with ( the Meridian & Golden Center) was ~80% empty most days.
As for convenience , well that's a bit of an illusion, isn't it. Lets ignore the emission problems ICE cars have. Ignore that they take up huge amounts of real estate to get one person around, are parked up most of the time, are incredibly dangerous for any non motorized traffic ... killing about one person a day, injuring many more, and killing thousands of animals. Ignore the thousands they costs to run. And gloss over them needing a vast, dedicate network of service areas storing highly flammable fuels. Lets ignore all that. They still don't get you 'point to point' for most businesses in town. You'd have to have every second block cleared for car-parks to get that.
Lets ignore the emission problems that just building the electric cars have (they also still require oil in one form or another, tyres, plastics, grease etc). Ignore that they also take up huge amounts of real estate to get one person around, are parked up most of the time charging, are incredibly dangerous if they get into a wreck ... are just as capable of injuring and killing thousands of animals and humans. Ignore what they cost to run (servicing, new tyres etc). And gloss over them needing a vast, dedicated network of charging areas and servicing areas (they don't fix themselves). Lets ignore all that. They still don't get you any great distances or are capable of carrying big loads (like logs, food products to supermarkets etc).......
Why is always the fault of the council? There is only a limited number of actual physical possible car parks on council roads.
Why doesn't Mr Broad or another building owner turn their building into a carpark.
Why does the council have to do everything!
First salvo in next Mayoral election once you realise who owns the building…
Auckland cyclists are not using a flash new FREE bike facility but cars are being parked and charged for. "A flash new bike parking facility on Auckland's North Shore, complete with charging and repair stations, CCTV and toilets, is missing one important thing - bicycles.
The bike park is part of the $36.1 million Toka Puia car park with 420 car parking spaces on Huron St, which opened last December to replace the loss of the nearby Anzac Ave car park for a new town square."
I love it when the truth comes out.