It is ironic that on the way to a meeting about the South Dunedin Library and Hub, King Edward St had not one single park.
The meeting itself was at a social service that had plenty of parks because it had purpose-built off-street parking to enable people to access their services.
The people of South Dunedin have been waiting for their promised library and hub since 1986.
They are excited about the library and hub but there are very real concerns about the lack of parking having a detrimental effect on this vibrant retail, hospitality and commercial area.
Creating no extra parking will mean the retail, food and commercial hub will be competing for parking with the library and hub.
Retail, business, commercial and food outlets in the area will lose out if people find it difficult to find a park.
The library and hub will miss out on users as people struggle to find a park nearby.
Most of all the community will miss out as they will find it hard to access both the library, hub, retail and business area.
This community has the highest number of elderly people and those with activity limitations in Dunedin.
This is an area that has the lowest incomes and highest number of people with no access to the internet in Dunedin.
Community services and facilities need easy access.
Good parking — especially for those with the most need, the disadvantaged, families with young children, senior citizens and those with health issues and limited mobility — is essential.
Social services in the area recognise disadvantaged people find it difficult to access services for a wide variety of reasons, hence they all provide purpose-built off-street parking.
It is recognised that having no parking creates a barrier and disincentivises using the services and facilities.
Recently, Port Chalmers library and hub faced the loss of eight carparks just outside the library.
This is what the community had to say: ‘‘removing these carparks will reduce safety and accessibility around this vital community hub’’.
One person commented they were worried it would create a disincentive to use the community facility.
The population of Port Chalmers and Sawyers Bay/Roseneath is about 2800.
The population of those in proximity to South Dunedin is 19,476.
South Dunedin has 6.8 times the population of Port Chalmers and no purpose-built off-street parking for their library and hub.
The larger catchment in which the South Dunedin Library and hub is the closest/convenient library is around 42,000.
The original plans presented to the business/retail community showed three storeys and 40 carparks on the ground floor and this was this community’s understanding of the site.
The original Vege Boys site has 83 off-street parks, about 50 of which would have been available to the library and hub.
Both proposals created great access to the library and hub and would have a positive impact on the business and retail community.
At present the South Dunedin Library and Hub in King Edward St, South Dunedin is going ahead with no extra allocated parking facilities and little consultation with the retail community.
The parks on King Edward St and Rankeilor St carpark serve the retailers, eateries, and commercial businesses.
They are nearly always full.
There are 61 parks on the street and a further 37 in the council’s Rankeilor St carpark.
I recently talked to someone who had been around the block three times to find a park — and had given a park to an elderly woman as she felt she needed it more than she did.
The King Edward St retail area is an essential service to the people of South Dunedin.
This street offers the best banking in Dunedin, serving an area that has low internet access.
There are three disability services in the area, Grey Power, a mobility scooter retailer, two glasses retailers and two hearing aid retailers.
They serve a community that has higher health needs and a number of elderly citizens.
King Edward St is compact, close and accessible, making it a popular destination, and the retail area serves its community exceedingly well.
Building a library and hub without extra parking is taking available parking away from this area and risks people not being able to access the services they need.
At worst this puts these services at risk to the very people that need them.
• Rachel Elder is a former Dunedin city councillor.
