Lower Octagon businesses pushing for the area to
be closed to traffic during summer have been told to put more
work into their idea if they want it to go ahead.
But Lower Octagon Forum spokesman The Terrace owner John
McDonald said the group just wanted a trial, and there was
little work to do.
The Dunedin City Council planning and environment committee
will debate the idea on Monday.
In May, Mr McDonald presented the council with a proposal
asking for the area to be vehicle-free from 6pm on Friday to
6pm on Sunday during daylight-saving months.
The idea of closing the lower Octagon to traffic was to
improve the ambience of the area, improve safety and reduce
petty crime.
A report by council urban design special projects manager
Emma Burford said various council departments had considered
the feasibility of the project.
The proposal was considered "deficient", as there was a lack
of consultation with all owners and occupiers of buildings, a
lack of information to support how it would address problems,
a lack of demonstrated support from users, and insufficient
information on traffic management, street cleaning and
maintenance.
Ms Burford recommended the committee decide in principle
whether it supported the idea, but if it did, the forum,
rather than the council, should do that work.
Mr McDonald said the council already had a traffic plan for
when it closed the Octagon, and there was no need for
another.
"I don't see it should be our responsibility," he said.
All retailers had been spoken to, and all supported the idea.
There would be no expansion of the chairs and tables in the
Octagon, so there would be no extra cleaning required.
"If you look at any other city in the world, they don't have
traffic in the city centre," he said.
david.loughrey@odt.co.nz
