George St partial closure 'great', more to come

The results of the partial closure of Dunedin's George St for a festival at the weekend bode well for plans to shift the balance of the shopping corridor in favour of pedestrians, and is the first of many such experiments to come, a city councillor says.

One business manager in the block said the closure of the northbound lane between Hanover and St Andrew Sts was a boon for her clothing store and another said it was a bust, though both said things would have worked better had the entire street been closed.

Cr Aaron Hawkins yesterday sang the praises of the Glow festival, which featured sound and light displays and ran from Friday afternoon to last night.

"I thought it was great - it was fantastic to see George St full of young people ... and particularly families, taking over the city centre."

The event served as a trial run for the council's plan to turn George St from Moray Pl to Frederick St into a southbound one-way street.

"It may have happened a few years later than we would have hoped and a few blocks further down the road, but this is exactly the thing we had in mind when we were talking about activating the Octagon and lower Stuart St with pedestrian trials back in 2014," Cr Hawkins said.

"It bodes well for the future of this project that you can shift the balance of George St in favour of people and pedestrians."

Cr Hawkins said the closure was the first of many such experiments coming up for Dunedin, several of which were likely to take advantage of existing events.

He acknowledged a range of feedback from businesses on the closure, though a key part of the experiment was to examine how people could use the central city without having to spend money, he said.

"People who want to engage with this and make the best out of it might do better out of the experience. It also may be better suited to some businesses than others."

On Friday, Alchemy Equipment manager Carmel van Turnhout said she believed the closure and the festival would pay off for her clothing store and she was planning to open late to make the most of it.

Mrs van Turnhout said yesterday the store was open late on both Friday and Saturday, which went well, although it would have better if the street had been closed off completely.

"I was really happy with what it did for us.

"The main feedback I got was ... so many people said it was ridiculous they hadn't closed the entire street, because people found it really annoying that cars were still there, and I agree."

Ahead of the festival, Trents Bags owner Sue Brown said she predicted the closure would significantly reduce custom at her George St store.

Her employee Carol Laing said yesterday that prediction was on the money.

"It's been extremely quiet."

Mrs Laing also said the entire street should have been closed for the festival, given the disruption caused by the extensive traffic management, which detracted from the street's appearance, in her view.

"During the day it's like a construction site."

Dunedin City Council principal urban designer Kathryn Ward could not be reached for comment yesterday.