In the meantime, the jury is out on whether the boxes are worth the effort.
Business people and the police had indicated to the council that young people and drunks were causing problems while loitering late at night in the vicinity of Bath St and in two areas in Albion Lane, including at the rear of the George St McDonald's restaurant, and that playing classical music was an idea worth pursuing.
The intention was that young people would think it was uncool and leave, but this week those affected said the three music boxes had brought mixed results.
In Bath St, Age Concern chief executive Susan Davidson said a box playing classical music installed in the organisation's car-park building appeared to discourage people from hanging out in the area for extended periods.
The box had been broken since before Christmas and yesterday she had arrived at work to find about 10 empty spirits and wine bottles in the car park.
"Clearly, someone had been using the space for quite some time, and that hasn't been the case [since the box was installed]."
Glen McSkimming, from Ace Clothing Alterations and Suit Hire, which adjoins Albion Lane, compared the box to myxomatosis and rabbits: "They went away for a while, and then they came back."
When the box was first installed about eight months ago, the young people who loitered in the area no longer congregated there, but the music no longer deterred them, he said.
A staff member of George St retailer Just Jeans said the box appeared to have limited success as fewer people gathered in nearby Albion Lane.
A group of about a dozen young people sitting in Albion Lane yesterday afternoon said the music did not affect them.
Madison Greeves said he and his friends gathered there every day, because it was "somewhere to go and everyone comes here".
"[The music] won't stop us from hanging out here; nothing really will, unless they [put up] big fences or something."
Corey Anderson said the music was "quite nice" and "like being at the beach".
Another youth said the music did not worry them: "People like it, they make jokes about it and do Lord of the Rings battles."
In contrast, the council's only mosquito box, which produces an irritating high-pitched sound only teenagers can hear, in Albion Lane was hugely successful, according to nearby retailers, who said they noticed a major reduction in vandalism, littering, graffiti and congregations of young people during the 12 months the box was in the area.
After it was removed, the problems returned and retailers said they were keen to get the box back.
City safety project manager council customer advocate Adrian Blair said the box had been moved to the Dowling St steps where council staff had noticed a problem with graffiti.
After a few months, it was clear the box had also been effective at that site and it was removed.
It is due to be installed in George St, outside retail stores in the area around Time Zone, where young people congregate, causing issues for retailers.
Evidence about the effectiveness of the boxes was so far anecdotal, Mr Blair said.
However, feedback from retailers, city safety officers and the police was that vandalism and graffiti incidents declined and the standard of behaviour improved in the areas where boxes were installed.
Scientific evidence of the effect of the boxes will be available when a research report from Otago University PhD student Andrew Mitchell is released later this year.
He had studied the music boxes for 12 months.
Mr Mitchell had studied effects at locations at the rear of McDonald's and the plaza outside the Dunedin City Library, looking first at the amount of graffiti, litter and inappropriate behaviour in the area before a music box was installed, and comparing that with what happened after installation.
George St jeweller Brent Weatherall said he expected the council to install the mosquito box outside his George St business shortly.
Retailers in that section of George St had intermittent issues with loiterers, mainly people hanging out near video game parlour Time Zone, he said.
He joined other retailers in hoping the situation would improve when Time Zone moved out of the premises when its lease expired on February 7.
Co-owner Mervyn Wilson said the business would close for several months while new premises were sought.
A notice warning loiterers they would be charged with trespass appeared recently in Time Zone's window.
Another retailer in the vicinity said she could not wait for the mosquito box to be installed.
"They spread out all over the footpath, they try to spit on people, abuse other people and create an atmosphere which puts off people."
Mr Blair said the boxes each cost about $1000, although it had recently been found possible to produce the high-pitched noise of a mosquito box using a recording on an MP3 player, which would be a cheaper option.
The council would not make decisions about more music or mosquito boxes until it had seen the results of Mr Mitchell's research.
