DCC cycleways propaganda continues #SpendSpendSpend

GREATER DUNEDIN ELECTIONEERING ALERT

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Dunedin City Council – Media Release
Another Busy Year Ahead With Cycleways

This item was published on 10 Apr 2015

Dunedin residents will be able to make the most of safer cycle routes in coming months as the city’s cycleway network continues to expand. Dunedin City Council Infrastructure Services Committee Chair Cr Kate Wilson says cycleways make the streets safer for all road users and hopefully encourage more people to get on bikes.

“For years people have been asking the Council for enhanced cycleways in Dunedin. We have a responsibility to provide networks that give people travel choices, whether that be cycling, walking or taking a bus or car. The more of the network that is completed, the more we can provide for people who want to use cycleways, whether it’s a child cycling to school, an adult cycling recreationally, or anything in between.”

It is also a central government priority to rapidly expand and enhance networks of cycleways around the country, recognising the benefits to health, the economy and the environment. The DCC has received $570,000 from the Government’s Urban Cycleway Fund and the Council has decided the funding will be used to enhance and expand the South Dunedin Cycle Network. The DCC also receives funding from the NZ Transport Agency to build the network.

“Taking advantage of Government funding now is important as we have a limited window of opportunity to capitalise on our position as one of only a few cities with the requisite Strategic Cycle Network Plan. We are a financially constrained Council and the more funding we get from outside sources the less we need from ratepayers.”

In August 2011, the Council adopted the Strategic Cycle Network for Dunedin, which gave the South Dunedin network of routes the highest priority for design and construction. Cr Wilson says 40% of people living in South Dunedin do not have access to a car, which is a key reason for South Dunedin cycle routes being prioritised.

“We understand introducing cycleways to our streets has been a big change for some people, but we’ve got a great opportunity here to improve our city in a very positive way for current and future generations.”

Here’s an outline of what’s happening with South Dunedin cycleways over the next month.
● Portobello Road (between Timaru Street and Portsmouth Drive) – wider consultation on a revised concept plan for this stretch of road.
● Hillside Road/McBride Street – staff are reviewing the proposed cycleway design after meeting with local businesses.
● Neville/Wilkie Streets – a final decision on the type of cycleway for these streets will be made in April. Construction is scheduled to begin in May.
● Harbourside/Roberts Street – the Harbourside Working Group will meet again in mid April.
● Richardson/Coughtrey, Fingall/Tedder, Bellona/New Streets – Construction of these ‘quiet streets’ and dedicated cycleway should be finished in the next couple of weeks.

Residents, businesses and property owners in areas where cycleways are planned will be contacted directly.

█ General information is also available at http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/sdcn and more details will be added as projects are rolled out.

Contact Cr Kate Wilson, Infrastructure Services Committee Chair on 027 443 8134. DCC Link

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Related Posts and Comments:
20.3.15 DCC Shame: First, John Wilson Dr … now Portobello Rd cycleway
11.2.15 Dunedin Cycleways: Pet project staff, ‘entitlement’? #irony
3.12.14 Cycling at Dunedin —boring debate, network spending continues #DUD
22.5.14 DCC Transportation Planning —ANOTHER consultation disaster
6.5.14 Roading network screwed by council staff
14.2.14 DCC: Broadband AND bicycles #fraudband speed
14.1.14 DCC: Hospital area parking changes #cyclelanes
5.1.14 Norman Foster: SkyCycling utopia above London railways #ThinkBig
24.12.13 Daaave’s $47 million Christmas present to Jinty. We’re paying.
4.12.13 Dunedin cycleways: Calvin Oaten greeted by DCC silence
17.11.13 Dunedin cycleways: Calvin Oaten’s alternative route
17.11.13 Cull and MacTavish… “Have you fixed the debt crisis?”
14.11.13 Cycle lane explosions and puncture kits (SPOKES grenades launch)
8.11.13 Dunedin Separated Cycle Lane Proposal [how to make a submission]
29.10.13 DCC (EDU) invents new job! [GigatownDunedin]
19.10.13 Cycle lobby games and media tilts
24.9.13 Mediocrity and lack of critical awareness at DCC [council reports]
8.7.13 Bloody $tupid cycleways and Cull’s electioneering . . . [route maps]
28.3.13 DCC DAP 2013/14: Portobello Harington Point Road Improvements
26.2.13 DCC binge spending alert: Proposed South Dunedin cycle network
22.2.13 DCC: Council meeting agenda and reports for 25 February 2013
31.1.13 Who? 2010 electioneering
21.11.12 Safe cycling -Cr Fliss Butcher
5.11.12 DCC, NZTA: Cycle lanes controversy

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image: (from top) odopod.com – cycle hero; blogs.independent.co.uk – cycling getty [Getty images]

Hamilton is here, DUD

Link received from Hype O’Thermia
Sat, 4 Apr 2015 at 10:20 a.m.

█ Message: Local shop owners blame lack of free parking and rising costs for “demise” of Hamilton’s CBD.

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The Central Business District of Hamilton is looking a little gloomy, with for lease signs up in many shop windows.

### Stuff.co.nz Last updated 05:00, April 4 2015
Hamilton central-city retail space sits empty
By Rachel Thomas and Nancy El-Gamel
Twenty per cent of ground level central Hamilton retail space is empty. Local shop owners are blaming lack of free parking and rising costs, while business leaders are pointing fingers at absentee landlords, sub-standard buildings and an inability to compete with lower rents at The Base.

The Base is New Zealand’s largest shopping Centre based in Te Rapa, 7 km North of Hamilton CBD.

To quantify what the average shopper sees [in the CBD], the Waikato Times counted all ground floor premises in the block within Hood St, Victoria St, Angelsea St and Liverpool St, finding that of 524 premises, the 104 empty ones outnumbered the 67 locally owned and operated stores in the area. […] Hamilton Mayor Julie Hardaker acknowledged the CBD needed desperate attention, and said council was taking a “holistic approach” to the problem. […] “For the city centre to be successful it must be commercially and economically successful and over the last few decades most reports have focused on physical changes, so we have started with an economic analysis and looked at the trend since 2001 in terms of the economy.”
Read more + Video

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Read comments to the article.
How many other places – like Dunedin – mirror Hamilton ?

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Images: Waikato Times/Stuff – Hamilton CBD [screenshots from video]

DCC 2GP (district plan): Residential parking + Medium density housing

A flyer received this week at Pitt St…. (the photo is lower Scotland St)

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Dunedin City Council – Media Release
Surveying Views on Parking

This item was published on 21 Oct 2014

The Dunedin City Council wants to hear what the public thinks about possible changes to how parking is managed in areas close to the CBD. Areas include City Rise, residential streets near the campus, the Warehouse Precinct, and around Lower Princes Street, Smith Street, York Place and Harrow Street.

Under a review of Dunedin’s District Plan, the DCC is looking at whether the number of off-street car parks required for dwellings in these areas should be reduced. “While this would make more space available for inner city living and could improve neighbourhood amenity, it would also mean more demand for on-street parking,” says City Development Manager Anna Johnson. “To manage this, the DCC may make changes to how parking is managed, with more on-street car parks in the affected areas being reserved for residents with permits or for visitors parking for up to two hours. This would mean that fewer on-street parks would be available to commuters,” says Ms Johnson.

Before any decisions on these matters are made, an online survey will query what the general public, affected residents, commuters, developers, businesses, schools, and other affected organisations think. Survey results will then be used by the DCC to help decide how parking in the affected areas should be managed. If any changes are proposed to District Plan rules for off-street parking, people will be able to make submissions on these changes next year, when the reviewed District Plan is notified. Any changes to these rules would not be likely to come into force until 2016.

In most of the affected areas, changes to on-street parking would only be proposed after the changes to District Plan off-street parking rules had taken place. However, where on-street parking pressure is already particularly high changes may be considered earlier. This could include, for example, areas around Royal Terrace, Heriot Row, London St and Cargill St and parts of City Rise, such as around Arthur Street. If any changes to on-street parking are proposed there will be formal consultation and people will be able to make submissions on the proposals.

█ Online surveys will be available from Wednesday 22 October to Friday 7 November from http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/2gp and paper surveys are available on request from the DCC. Please call 03 477 4000 to request a hard copy to be sent in the post.

Contact Anna Johnson – City Development Manager on 03 474 3874.

DCC Link

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Dunedin City Council – Media Release
Medium Density Housing Zones Identified

This item was published on 21 Oct 2014

The growth in one to two person households in Dunedin has prompted a rethink of how we look at residential development. As part of the development of the Dunedin Spatial Plan and the city’s second generation District Plan (2GP), Dunedin City Council staff have been working with stakeholders and experts, and consulting with the community, to identify areas that should provide for medium density housing, particularly in areas close to centres, public transport, and community and recreational facilities.

Medium density relates to how many residential units there are per section. Medium density housing can be in the form of houses on small sections, semi-detached or terraced houses, or two to three storey apartment buildings on larger sections. Much of South Dunedin and the residential areas around the University of Otago are examples of areas that are developed to a “medium density” level.

DCC City Development Manager Anna Johnson says various ideas about where to provide medium density housing have been tested through different stages of consultation. As a result of that feedback and further field work, a final set of areas to be included in the 2GP, to be notified in the first half of next year, has been proposed.

Many of these areas are already zoned for, or developed as, medium density housing, but some new areas have been identified to cater for a predicted growth in demand for different housing types. From this week, owners and occupiers in areas of medium density zoning will be given a chance to see what is proposed in these areas and to provide feedback on the key draft Plan provisions.

Ms Johnson says the need to identify such areas reflects Dunedin’s changing demographics. “The city’s largest demographic growth area is one to two person households, which includes couples with no children at home. These so-called empty nesters often want to make a move to warm, low maintenance forms of housing in their existing neighbourhoods. We need to ensure the city’s planning rules have scope to do that.”

The proposed medium density zones would require a minimum site size of 200m2 for subdivision. In terms of existing sites and newly-subdivided sites, 45m2 of land would be required for each ‘habitable room’, which equates to a room that is, or could be, a bedroom. Providing all performance standards related to the building were met, this would allow, for example, a four bedroom house, or two semi-detached residential units with two bedrooms each, to be built on a 200m2 site.

Research by DCC planning staff and public submissions on the 2GP point to the need for medium density housing in areas where there is good access to public transport, community facilities and green spaces. There are 23 areas that have been identified for medium density zoning. Five of these may need infrastructure upgrades if significantly more development occurred. The 23 areas include areas that are already zoned medium density, areas where development is at a higher level than is currently permitted and areas that might benefit from redevelopment to improve the range and quality of housing available. It also includes areas where there is a market for more housing choices, where some change in housing types can occur without a major impact on existing amenity values.

Neighbourhoods already zoned for medium density (residential 2, 3 and 4) include areas below the Town Belt, around the University campus and parts of Caversham and Mosgiel. Areas where there is already quite a lot of medium density housing include parts of Mornington, City Rise, the Gardens area and North East Valley. In some suburbs, such as Opoho, Roslyn, Belleknowes, Andersons Bay, Waverley and parts of Caversham, residential 1 zoning currently restricts building to a minimum 500m2 site, but there is a market for more housing choices.

“We believe medium density housing could be provided for, with appropriate design standards, in areas like these without significant impact on the amenity values of the area,” Ms Johnson says. “Ultimately we want to spread the options for medium density housing across the city and not just be focusing on older areas that may be perceived as less desirable. We want people to have choices as they get older. Not everyone who wants to live in an apartment or low maintenance home wants to live in the central city. People want choices in their own neighbourhoods and there is a growing demand for quality smaller homes in our popular suburbs.”

In addition to the medium density housing zones, a further eight areas are proposed to be zoned as heritage residential zones, but with density and plan provisions similar to those for medium density zones.

█ From Wednesday, visit http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/2gp for more details and to fill out a survey on medium density housing. Consultation closes on Friday, 7 November.

Contact Anna Johnson – City Development Manager on 03 474 3874.

DCC Link

● ODT 24.10.14 Plan changes target housing, parking

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Auckland launches electric trains

The first electric trains roll out tomorrow (Auckland Transport)

### 3news.co.nz Saturday 26 Apr 2014 7:00a.m.
Long wait for electric trains almost over
By Dan Satherley – Online Reporter
Almost a century ago, transport officials proposed electrifying Auckland’s nascent rail network. Tomorrow those plans become reality, with the public launch of the city’s first electric trains. All 5000 tickets for the inaugural rides, which start at 10am, were snapped up within 24 hours. Passengers will be taken from Britomart to Newmarket and back on the first of the 57 new trains to go into service.

“Our catchline is smarter, better, quieter, all those things. They’re much more efficient, they use a lot less energy, they are much, much quieter and they are much more reliable.”

Auckland Transport media manager Mark Hannan says the upgrade has been a long time coming. The current diesel-powered trains were purchased from Perth at scrap metal prices after the West Australian city electrified its network in the early 1990s. The first of the electric trains will be taking fare-paying passengers on the Onehunga line from Monday, and by the middle of next year all of the old locomotives will be history.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr