Dunedin's one-way system likely to be retained as hospital rebuild continues
From reporter Hamish McNeilly:
Dunedin’s one way system looks likely to be retained as one of the country’s largest infrastructure project is built in the middle of it.
The Dunedin City Council will debate options for State Highway 1 through the city when councillors meet on Monday.
Two options are to be considered: retaining the existing one-way system – with enhancements – or creating a two-way option. A report to councillors recommends they endorse the former.
As work ramps up on the new $1.4 billion Dunedin Hospital project, the council was working alongside the likes of Waka Kotahi and the Otago Regional Council to manage the disruption to traffic.
Late last year, Waka Kotahi supported retaining the existing one-way network, while making safety and amenity improvements, but the city council supported the two-way option.
Both the council and the agency agreed to undertake more work looking at both options.
The council’s report noted there was an opportunity to improve the amenity of the existing one-way option by reducing parking and changing the width of the existing cycleways.
The two-way option would allow for significantly improved amenities, including tree planting and garden beds on the existing northbound one-way, and reduced parking. However, no amenity improvements could be made on the existing southbound route.
The two-way option would result in increased travel times, with modelling indicating that there was only capacity for about 85% of expected vehicle demand by 2028, which would possibly drive motorists onto other roads.
While both options were similar in terms of affordability and safety, the two-way option scored better for liveability, travel choice, connectivity and carbon zero goals.
Waka Kotahi would continue to own, operate, and maintain both the north and southbound lanes of the state highway network, but that would not be the case if Cumberland St became a local road.
Council staff requested flexibility in the design so the configuration of the state highway could be reconsidered in the future.
A report noted the northbound one-way lanes had 15,600 vehicle movements each day, of which 600 were trucks, while the southbound one-way lanes had 14,200 vehicle movements daily, including 500 trucks.
Retaining the one-way system was a key part of last year’s election campaign by mayor Jules Radich and his Team Dunedin ticket.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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62.1% Summer
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36.4% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
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