Both mayoralty candidate Sophie Barker and senior city councillor David Benson-Pope said during a debate at a packed Opoho Presbyterian Church last night that they wanted a train service to run to Middlemarch.
The future of Dunedin Railways and the Taieri Gorge line are issues that will need to be faced next term.
Cr Benson-Pope also got one of the bigger cheers of the night when he called for voters to elect candidates who wanted to keep up the city’s momentum, rather than those "trying to stop things from happening".
The line-up at last night’s debate was mostly centre-left and among the stronger speakers were Robyn McLean, Randal Scott and Richard Knights, as well as Kevin Gilbert from the Team Dunedin ticket.
During a multiple-choice segment, candidates were asked about the council and mana whenua.
Most opted for the answer stating more needed to be done by the council in fulfilling treaty obligations.
For a question about the State Highway 1 one-way traffic system around the new Dunedin Hospital, Cr Barker backed a modified one-way pair of routes.
When the council voted on the issue last year, Cr Barker supported advancing a two-way model as the basis for future discussion.
It is a position she has explained on social media as pushing for Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to put adequate resources into Dunedin.
Among the stronger themes of the evening were several candidates backing Aaron Hawkins to remain as mayor, as well as some who preferred Cr Barker.
Team Dunedin candidates were asked to opt for candidates other than the ticket’s leader, Jules Radich.
