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Thousands of people contributed online to the public engagement, conducted in July 2020 as part of the project’s business case process.
Shaping Future Dunedin, Co-Lead Client Nick Sargent, said popular comments included the idea of new multi-story car parking buildings in the city center and an improved downtown bus loop.
“There were also many comments from people who were concerned that changes to the one-way system would increase congestion, cut highway capacity in half and affect travel time around the city.”
The purpose of the commitment was to start a city-wide conversation about the changes the central city transportation system may face as the new Dunedin Hospital and other central city developments take shape, he said.
A variety of ideas were presented on interactive maps including:
- suggested ways for people to get around on foot and by bike more easily and safely
- improve public transportation and parking options
- Provide an alternative route without going through the city center.
- change the current road network, for example if the one-way system could be two-way
Since the project was still in the ideas stage, it was helpful to see the thoughts and concerns of the people who were involved in the engagement, Sargent said.
“It is clear that while there is general support for a variety of parking, public transportation, walking and biking ideas, people are concerned that any change to the one-way system will result in congestion and delays.
“We are listening to these concerns and will continue to do more technical work, including traffic shaping, over the next several months as we explore more options for the future configuration of SH1 in downtown Dunedin.”
“We wanted to give people the opportunity to participate as early as possible in the process. Understanding what people think, their likes and concerns is an important part of the body of information that we are collecting to inform the business case.”
At the same time, the project team would advance other work needed to inform Shaping Future Dunedin Transport’s business case process, he said.
He was working with the new Dunedin Hospital team and other stakeholders, including the University of Otago.
The project team will include:
- options for the configuration of St Andrew Street (SH88) and Frederick Street
- Bus service improvements and incentives, including a priority bus route south
- developing a parking roadmap
- improvements to the port artery
There were over 22,000 total visits to the public engagement website and over 5,000 unique visitors were logged.
More information would be available as technical studies and other planning work are completed, and people will also have a new opportunity to get involved in the business case process in early 2021, Sargent said.
