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A controversial new 10kmh speed limit and coloured dots on Dunedin's main street are likely to be removed next week.
And when the blue dots and slow speeds go on George St, so will the free parking.
The 10kmh speed limit for a section of the city centre’s main thoroughfare, and the accompanying coloured dots, indicating a road shared by pedestrians, cyclists and cars, were part of a suite of Covid-19 Alert Level 2-inspired measures approved for the city centre in a 9-4 vote by the council’s planning and environment committee on May 15.
Today, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it was the Government's ‘‘strong desire’’ to move to Level 1 as soon as practical, which could be as soon as Wednesday next week.
On Monday, the Dunedin City Council will decide whether to end its ‘‘Safer CBD’’ measures immediately, or when the country moves to Level 1.
It is not clear whether the measures had their desired effect.
Council infrastructure general manager Simon Drew has advised that council monitoring showed ‘‘while about 30% of cars were driving 20kmh or slower, most cars were not driving at the 10kmh limit’’ and that most people were not using the safety measures to practice social distancing.
‘‘Observations showed that most people appeared to be paying little concern to the 2m physical distancing requirements, either on footpaths,
inside shops or in the malls,’’ Mr Drew’s report to the council reads.
Further, Enterprise Dunedin staff surveyed 68 retailers and hospitality businesses in the affected parts of Princes and George Sts and found 51
respondents thought people shopping in the city centre were not using the safety measures to allow for physical distancing, 15 thought shoppers were, and two were unsure.
One of the advantages, listed in the report for council consideration is that with the immediate end of the measures, the collection of parking fees could resume which, prior to the lockdown, generated $135,000 a week.
The other option for council consideration is to end the trial when the country moves to Level 1.