Serving Dunedin’s interests

Dave Cull
Dave Cull
Dunedin ratepayers are very satisfied with things nice to have in a city.

The latest residents’ opinion shows overwhelming satisfaction with Toitu Otago Settlers Museum, the Botanic Garden, the Otago Museum and public libraries.

What ratepayers are less satisfied with are the things elected councillors and officials should concern themselves with more. They include the suitability of the road network for cyclists throughout the city, availability of parking in the central city, on-street metered parking and the flow of peak traffic.

There should be no surprise to anyone about the lack of satisfaction with traffic and parking issues. Orange cones line some of the one-way system, removing parks without replacing them anywhere else. The city does indeed covet cycleways, despite them being little used most of the time. But cyclists deserve to travel safely and not risk their lives or limbs in their journeys.

But Dunedin is a city of motorists, as can be judged any morning of the working week. Traffic is getting denser and, except for school holidays, there is pressure on the main thoroughfares.

Of course, Dunedin has nothing like the pressure  of other main centres, particularly Auckland and Christchurch. But it does exist and the Dunedin City Council seems oblivious to the needs of  many ratepayers, the ones  footing the bill.

Having  museums, libraries and gardens is wonderful and adds to the quality of living residents like to talk about when describing Dunedin.

Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull says the survey reflected a growing sense of confidence in the direction the city is headed. It showed staff are getting delivery of services right and people are noticing.

That may be true regarding the nice things to have, but it is certainly not true on a key measure of liveability — transport. Mr Cull has recently been elected as president of Local Government New Zealand, a role relinquished by former Hastings mayor Lawrence Yule who is now a National Party MP.

During Mr Yule’s 16-year term as mayor, Hastings District Council middle management staff were criticised by the Havelock North water inquiry for their actions leading up to last year’s campylobacter outbreak.

Observers said the ultimate responsibility lay further up the chain.

Water has already played a large role in the lives of Dunedin ratepayers, first through flooding then through untreated "raw" water being spilled from the Ross Creek Reservoir and finding its way into the drinking water network.

Mr Cull, into his third term as mayor, is taking on a national role when problems continue at home.

Mr Cull needs to leave the city better than he found it when he was elected mayor in 2010. Serving two masters as Dunedin Mayor and president of LGNZ will stretch his resources. Dunedin is a proud city from its association with early settlers establishing some of the country’s most venerable commercial institutions.

No doubt the job as LGNZ president provides Mr Cull with national mana but at what cost for Dunedin?

Comments

Some of the "safety" modifications the DCC has made are idiotic in the extreme.

Take Cargills corner in South Dunedin. Someone has decided that painting slippery gloss paint across the intersection immediately before the pedestrian crossing is a good idea to mark where cycles go. In the wet it's like ice, and trying to stop for any pedestrian who steps out suddenly is impossible.

Or the pedestrian extensions on the corner of Coughtrey St and Forbury Road in St Clair. The corner is so tight that large vehicles repeatedly fail to get around the corner and run OVER exactly where pedestrians are supposed to stand. I saw a small boy almost killed there when he had to jump backwards to avoid being run over by a long truck. It happens so often the little yellow plastic buttons that give blind people an idea of where to stand, have all been broken off.

There is the same issue on Richardson St with the intersection with Moreau where it was too tight for a bus to get around the corner so it ran over a motorcyclist waiting at the give way.

The DCC won't listen to ratepayers. Perhaps the ODT can do something about it.

I see that today 27.10.17 that RNZ only two hours ago, reminds us of a real issue that the ODT has failed to report in the online edition: "Otago power pole replacement 'creating more of a danger" What to do? We can start by reporting it in the ODT!