A project as high-profile as an upgrade of Dunedin’s main shopping street naturally attracts attention about the details of what is going on.
The Dunedin City Council has mostly been forthcoming about its multimillion-dollar George St upgrade, which has been both contentious and widely appreciated for creating a much-improved streetscape.
However, there have lately been a few matters where taking a minimalist approach to providing information appears to be the preferred strategy.
They relate to the recently reopened Knox block of George St and the approach to it from Pitt St.
It is reasonable to infer, and the council has essentially said, the plan was to prevent traffic from taking a tight left turn into the Knox block, and there was then a late change of heart.
The Otago Daily Times asked for clarity on the point, but the council decided to stop short of being explicit.
People are free to judge for themselves whether the intersection really looks like one where motorists should make a tight turn left from Pitt St into George St, as most are now certainly permitted to do.
Obviously, it is hard to see in this matter how clarity from the council about its decision-making — or confirming or denying it changed course after listening to concerns — would harm the city.
Also puzzling has been the council’s decision-making relating to introducing a proposed bus stop outside Knox Church.
The ODT put to the council kerbing for a double bus stop was built before it was determined such a stop should certainly be located there.
This narrative, presenting a decision-making process as back-to-front or counterintuitive, has not been challenged and neither has an explanation been offered.
The fullest explanation was simply "the new bus stops outside Knox Church remain temporary until approved by council, and we’re happy with the process".
Retailers in the area and at least one bus driver believe locating a bus stop immediately before a pedestrian crossing creates a safety problem.
However, an unidentified representative of the council says "we have no concerns about the decision-making process to date", and so we are presumably expected to accept it has been fine.
Broadly, what happened in the Knox block is retailer concerns about losing carparks led to project revisions.
One amendment was adding three parks in Pitt St.
When the council made it sound a lot like there was to be no left turn from Pitt St, Knox Church representatives were surprised by the council’s commentary and concerned access to the church might be hindered.
The council’s position evolved from talk of removing the left-turn option to allowing it for small and mid-sized vehicles and "asking" for drivers of trucks and buses not to attempt the manoeuvre.
The council was either adjusting its position on the fly or it recovered memories of what its intentions had previously been. Either way, it felt no need to expand on the subject.
Nor was the council keen to get into the science of explaining how reducing a proposed double bus stop to a single, standard stop outside the church would not restore a single carpark.
The council offered a little about there being no reopening ceremony for the Knox block, as there had been for the earlier-completed Farmers block. Redevelopment of the whole retail area would be marked upon completion of the project next year, it said.
Concerning its recent lack of inclination to say much about issues in the Knox block, the council said responses to media queries had been provided "to the extent warranted by what is a relatively minor change to our roading network".
This does not look like the perspective of an organisation greatly interested in transparency and accountability.
The council’s reluctance to provide fulsome responses extended even to not being precise about what its decision-making had been.
The apparent conviction among council staff that processes have been not at all problematic is seemingly not shared by at least four elected representatives, judging from misgivings shared in public settings and in emails. None has appeared eager to make a big deal of reservations nonetheless expressed.
The council’s position can be summarised in the following statements.
"We worked closely with businesses and other stakeholders in the Knox block throughout the project, and we think the finished result looks fantastic and appears to be working well, with no issues reported.
"We’ll continue to monitor the area and make further changes if required."
This may be fine, but the council’s lack of candour tells its own story, undermining confidence in its pronouncements.
