Queens Drive parks to go

The hand that gave will taketh away when the Dunedin City Council returns a street it reduced to one way - inadvertently creating 58 commuter car parks - back into a two-way street.

The section of Queens Dr between Stuart St and Rattray St, in the city's Town Belt, was turned into a one-way street in 2004, following safety concerns.

But the change unintentionally created room for people to park along one side of the street, the council's community development committee heard yesterday.

As a result of consultation last year with affected parties, including the Dunedin Amenities Society which was not included in the original process, the committee was asked to recommend returning the one-way section of the street to two-way to allow people to traverse the whole of the scenic drive in both directions, and remove commuter parking which was not regarded as a function of the Town Belt.

Cr Kate Wilson said while she wanted to protect the Town Belt, she was concerned about the parking displacement the move would cause, and where the up to 58 people who parked there, mostly Otago Boys' High School pupils, might find parks elsewhere.

Cr Bill Acklin asked if it was the council's responsibility to find those people other parks.

Council parks and recreation services manager Mick Reece said he did not think it was.

Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull said he did not see the matter as a parking issue.

Reinforcing the Town Belt management plan, which only allows for parking in the area in a few specific locations, had to be the priority. However, it was only fair that those commuters received plenty of warning about the change.

Councillors agreed the street be restored to two-way traffic when the $60,000 required to do the work properly became available, within the next year.

Commuters would be given one month's notice beforehand.

debbie.porteous@odt.co.nz

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