'Oh God, sorry': Dunedin mayor gets emotional on climate change and floods

Nicole Reporter from Dunedin News

A debate over transport included an emotional speech from Dunedin’s non-driving mayor Aaron Hawkins as he spoke about the impact of the Canterbury floods on people's lives.

On Tuesday, the second day of deliberations into the Dunedin City Council's 10-year-plan, the often heated issues of car parking and cycle lanes were on the agenda.

The debate included a passionate speech from Hawkins, who noted humans “aren’t particularly hard-wired towards dealing with abstractions”.

But one of the few tangible things a council, such as Dunedin, could do for the climate movement was through its transport network.

In a nod to his own non-driving, Hawkins admitted it was inconvenient not to drive.

But that was less inconvenient than being separated from family, friends, business and social connections by the sort of weather events witnessed in Canterbury over recent days.

“Oh God, sorry,” the mayor said, visibly emotional.

However, he noted people became obsessed when they talked about car parking.

It came after an earlier speech by outspoken councillor Lee Vandervis, who rejected the council’s ideology of “two wheels good, four wheels bad”.

The council’s “obscenely expensive $53 million ideological splurge”, which included more bus lanes, park and ride facilities, and improved cycle lanes and footpaths, did not contain one extra car park.

That was despite an extra 10,000 people expected to live in the city over the next seven years.

Nor did it deal with the growing congestion on city streets caused by speed bumps and cycle lanes, Vandervis said.

The council received hundreds of submissions on those transport projects, with even more responses received via Facebook and Twitter polls.

The projects in the 10-year-plan include park and ride facilities at Mosgiel and Burnside ($10.3m), a parking management and guidance system ($9.5m), a harbour arterial route ($16.6m), a bus lane for Princes St ($6.6m), and bike hubs ($2.5m)

The council voted to approve the transport plan 12-2.