The Waitaki District Council will decide today whether to go ahead with the trial after the council’s assets committee earlier this month recommended a trial closure of Harbour St to motorists at weekends between the hours of 10am and 4pm, from February 18 to May 1.
Last year, Mr Waite circulated a petition among Harbour St business owners opposing restricting cars on the street in Oamaru’s historic precinct, and argued at the council’s November 30 meeting — when a decision was expected on a proposal to close the street to motorists throughout the week during summer business hours — a closure would be a "shocking mistake".
The plan was later changed to a weekend-only trial.
Mr Waite said yesterday he would not attend today’s meeting but he believed the council was determined to go through with the trial.
At the November meeting councillors voted to earmark $60,000 for roading, pedestrian and parking improvement work in the precinct and $8000 was tagged for retractable bollards to stop cars entering Harbour St in the morning. Speed limits were lowered to 30kmh in surrounding streets.
Pedestrian safety was cited as a primary concern in council documents addressing the proposed closure, but Mr Waite called closing the street a "knee-jerk" reaction and said the council should instead invest in footpaths along the street. He said the busy summer season was over and the trial would not show the effect the closure would have on retailers. The council should conduct a trial next summer when visitor numbers increased again.
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said yesterday a trial could be a "useful step" and said the street remained busy even if the busiest days of summer had passed.
The proposal has been endorsed by the Waitaki Tourism Association.
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Comments
Mr Kircher is riding his pet hobby horse. Mr Waite wants to protect his business. How about gathering some facts? Is council going to count the number of pedestrians on all weekends for a few months to then be able to test the effect of the road closure? Does anyone have hard data on the pedestrian count during peak periods?
It seems to me that this is just another example of councils wasting ratepayer money on a whim. Collect the data, build a real business case and then make changes if they are warranted.
But stop wasting other peoples money pursuing pet projects and bright spark ideas. Especially when those ideas might seem great at 2am but less great in the light of day.