Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins made the case for the health and safety response to the global pandemic by asking his colleagues to consider the "worst-case scenarios" for both action or inaction on approving a plan that allows city centre businesses to extend into the footpaths and people to walk through car parks and on to George St from Moray Pl to Albany St in a road treated as a "shared space".
"Level 2 is a significant shift," Mr Hawkins said.
People would be encouraged into a street that on a busy summer day had 70,000 people sharing the up to 4m footpaths.
He addressed issues of ideology — stating everybody based decisions on their own ideologies.
He addressed issues of the adequacy of engagement — stating "in a perfect world engagement could have been better".
"But this is not a perfect world."
All of the measures included in the report would be easily reversible; the temporary speed limit could be changed within the maximum 12-month period; staff would engage with groups to provide for cyclists, pedestrians and people with mobility challenges; there would be free parking to be reviewed monthly; and staff would work on an application for Government funding.
The report before the Dunedin City Council’s planning and environment committee today outlined the benefits of the NZ Transport Agency’s Innovating Streets for People fund.
But because council chief executive Sue Bidrose informed councillors that funding was for temporary measures in response to Covid-19, which were designed to become permanent, and there were no plans, she said, for these measures to be permanent, reference to the specific funding was dropped.
Cr Lee Vandervis was among the councillors who took umbrage with what he called a $40,000 ideologically driven experiment that amounted to "retrospective rubber stamping" of a council plan already under way.
He noted $10,000 had already been spent on 70 10kmh speed limit signs.
And he said the real health and safety risk was due to the council encouraging people to walk in the road.
"I see the real health and safety issue here being created -- being created by an experiment that hasn’t been thought through," Cr Vandervis said.
"I think there’s been actually a significant amount of pushing this through in advance, spending money in advance."
While he withdrew any suggestion council staff did anything wrong at today's meeting, earlier he would not withdraw a statement that Cr Chris Staynes had — during yesterday’s debate on a delay on the debate on the proposal — told councillors he would not be able to participate in decision-making if the meeting were delayed.
The meeting was delayed and Cr Staynes did participate.
But Cr Jules Radich did not -- Cr Radich won the delay while requesting an opinion from the auditor-general on whether he indeed, as council’s counsel indicated, had a conflict of interest in the matter as a George St property owner.
Cr Radich did not receive the advice before the start of today’s meeting and he did not participate.
How they voted
For
- Cr Barker
- Cr Christine Garey
- Cr Doug Hall
- Mayor Aaron Hawkins
- Cr Marie Laufiso
- Cr Jim O’Malley
- Cr Chris Staynes
- Cr Steve Walker
- Cr Benson-Pope
Against
- Cr Carmen Houlahan
- Cr Mike Lord
- Cr Lee Vandervis
- Cr Andrew Whiley
Withdrawn
- Cr Jules Radich
Absent
- Cr Rachel Elder
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Comments
Despite the public health risks, no local state of emergency has been declared. So the DCC should have followed proper legal process deciding on this matter in a properly advertised EXTRAORDINARY MEETING OF THE COUNCIL.
Instead, the matter was decided at a meeting of the Planning and Environment Committee. When the CE was asked if the matter was fundamentally a matter of traffic management, she replied yes but that it was also public health. So how is any reasonable person going to know that a critical decision of great public interest relating to public health is going to be decided at an ordinary Planning and Environment Committee. The DCC excluded not only Cr Jules Radich from this decision-making (because it voted not to wait for a legal ruling when there is no emergency ) and not just the business and commercial property owners from this decision making but everyone else as well.
"He addressed issues of ideology — stating everybody based decisions on their own ideologies."
No Mr Hawkins everybody does not base their decisions on their own ideology. Real leaders base their decisions on knowledge and experience. Two things that you are sadly lacking.
Traffic and foot traffic. Feet will go elsewhere.
We laughed, we cried...at you, not with you! The stuff rolling down "the Hill" is priceless!
So it's official. Dunedin is now governed by the Dunedin Undemocratic Non Council of Elitists (DUNCE).
Mixing traffic and pedestrians in the name of safety, when the CITY has had NO NEW CASES of the China Flu for WEEKS, is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of.
All they need to do was make the footpaths one way, like the supermarkets did and even that would be over the top.
And in the meantime, people are encouraged to cram into busses without the need for a mask or gloves or the ability to contact trace.
This is NOT about ideology, personality types nor anything else.
It's just bloody minded, elitist, stupidity.
China Flu? Never heard of it. Want to enlighten us?
Those who suggested this is a total idiot Those who voted for it, are just followers sponging of the Tax and Rate payers of Dunedin / New Zealand - Barker, Garey, Hall, Laufiso, O’Malley, Staynes, Walker, Benson-Pope that is you - you are all sponges. I honestly hope the Public of Dunedin Boo you whenever you are in Shops, walking around town. Hang your heads in shame. None of you are leaders, you are all just followers sandals, yes sir yes sir. My 15 year old Nephew has more leadership in his left nut, than all of you put together.
We knew when voting for Cr Radich that he was a George St property owner, it's obvious that he would make a stand for local businesses, that's why he got our votes, to take away our representation on this issue by calling conflict if interest is reprehensible.
Cr Radich should not have had to stand aside during these discussions.
I'd hate to see the fallout if the shoe was on the other foot..
Except for Cr Doug Hall, predictable voting. In which case- very democratic as we voted them in. As it happens today I experienced the clutter of many feet on the footpath and it was hard to keep the 1-2m distance. Good idea to spread out across the road and discourage traffic. Only hope the "businesses to extend into the footpaths' does not negate this.
ODT: two corrections: Cr Elder was present and abstained.
The Council voted against giving Cr Radich another 12 hours for the Auditor-General to make a ruling that Cr Radich did not have a pecuniary interest in the matter on the grounds of his being a George St property owner. So Cr Radich was not permitted to take part although he made it clear he wanted to be able to represent the people who had voted him in. You can see all this on the DCC You Tube channel. There is a relevant precedent: former DCC Councillors Wilson and Thomson were both shop owners. Yet when considering matters relating to commercial activities in Dunedin, they were NOT required by the elected Council at the time to sit back from the table ( i.e not take part in the discussion and decision making ) because they were considered to have no greater than the public interest on account of owning shops. There is a difference between having an interest and having a conflict of interest. And I can see no reason why Cr Radich should have been excluded, especially considering Crs Wilson and Thomson were not.
It's more than obvious that Councillors Houlahan, Lord, Vandervis and Whiley are the only ones with any sense of obligation to their position in representing the wishes of residents/ratepayers of Dunedin.
The Mayor (whose only job has been as a DJ - for goodness sake!!) and the others who want a 10km speed limit and more road space for pedestrians on George Street are on another planet and if we ratepayers don't do something quick, those fools will get their way. Unless we strenuously object, the George Street businesses will die. When that happens, are there enough adventurous developers brave enough to open up shopping malls in the suburbs? I wouldn't like to see that occur but we need to be able to go somewhere to buy goods - unless there's a method in Hawkins madness that we all buy on-line. IT'S NOT SSOMETHING I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN IN MY LIFETIME.
Using Covid-19 and Public health as justification is disingenuous, bordering on fraudulent. 1. We are in May, entering the winter months - so there is no need to rush through changes without consultation. 2. Much of the summer foot-traffic through the CBD comes from cruise ship passengers. Expect a huge decline in the cruise industry next season. 3. The mortality rate of Covid-19 is much lower than initially expected
It is actually quite insulting that this bunch of anti car councillors are even pretending that these moves are either temporary or in the interests of public safety.
Have either Mayor Aaron Hawkins, Cr Laufiso, Cr O’Malley or Cr Walker offered ANY policies to attract business or grow Dunedin in their time on council. No, all we ever hear is a never ending, pathetic anti car program from these people. No original thinking from any of them.
Roll on the next election. These myopic fools and their policies will be off hitching rides to no where. Soon to be followed by an equally unbalanced bunch of councill staff. Starting at the top and including all the current town planners.
I just hope some George St businesses can survive the next 2 years. They are suffering the loss of business from the economic downturn, the loss of the Meridian Mall drawcard and now the blind foolishness of an anti car council. God help them, cause these councillors won't.
Maybe the perfect scenario would be to have pedestrian-only streets, i.e. no vehicles whatsoever in the inner city. Works well in the UK and parts of Europe, so why not here ?
Like watching a train wreck in slow motion. The retail sector is already in dire straits, the last thing we need it the council "helping" with this total idiocy. Like helping a drowning man by pushing his head under water.
It's interesting that Mayor Hawkins admitted his decision was ideological. We now have an experiment underway to see what his ideology produces.
When a retail collapse inevitably eventuates, when most of the retail outlets in George Street are closed down, local unemployment goes over 10%, will the council accept their share of the responsibility?
"Cars and people can mix in the road through Dunedin’s city centre"
Gotta love that headline !! Obviously cyclists are banned and the council can save millions on green paint and bollards ... ;-)