Latest news with #AlbanyStConnection
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Albany St cycleway consultation ‘a shambles'
Albany St business people (from left) Neeraj Kumar, of A+ Burgers, Sharleen Smith, of Eureka Cafe and Bar, Selina Ling, of Formosa Delight, Jason Kim, of Sushi Station, and Geri Chen, of The Flying Squid, are among those who voiced concerns about consultation on a proposed cycleway project in the street. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON More Dunedin businesses have slammed consultation on a central city cycleway, one describing the process as "a shambles". Eureka Cafe and Bar owner Sharleen Smith also said explanations offered by the Dunedin City Council for why some Albany St businesses were not initially consulted about the Albany St Connection project included that paperwork "must have blown away in the wind" or was thrown in the rubbish. The project aims to provide a safe walking and cycling connection between the shared Te Aka Ōtākou harbour path, Dunedin's tertiary area and the CBD. The council says it planned to contact the business owners again regarding their concerns "about now", but that it is no longer necessary since it is now re-consulting on parking changes following legal advice. Businesses are encouraged to "share their views too". Mrs Smith said she believed a total of 10 businesses on the street were in a similar situation to her. "Not one of us got a piece of paper, a face-to-face or anything, an email, to do with the consultation period before this was going to go to a vote." She provided the ODT with a July 2023 email to the council from her landlord, Greg Paterson, in which he said most of the businesses in Albany St had reportedly not been contacted. His tenants, Eureka Cafe and Bar, The Flying Squid, Formosa Delight, A+ Burgers, Sushi Station and Leith Liquorland all wanted to be heard, have the chance to object formally and have input into the process, he said. The whole process had been a "shambles", Mrs Smith said. Affected businesses met members of the council's transport department at Eureka in October 2023. They gave reasons for the perceived lack of consultation that were "flippant" and rude, Mrs Smith said. "[A staff member] looked me in the eye and he said, 'I came here, you were closed, I put it under your door, so it must have blown away in the wind'. "And then I questioned him, 'Well, what about Liquorland Leith?' "[He said] 'Yes, I went in there, I gave it to a young guy and he probably threw it in the rubbish'." They had since been given the chance to submit on changes to parking in the street, but not on the project as a whole, she said. She wanted the council to acknowledge the consultation was flawed and apologise to businesses and landlords. Others businesses spoken to yesterday had similar views. Sushi Station manager Jason Kim said any changes to nearby parking without their knowledge would affect the business. It would have been nice to have known earlier, he said. "It's a bit of negligence on their part." Formosa Delight owner Selina Ling said she knew nothing about the cycleway project until Mr Paterson told her ahead of the meeting at Eureka. "I was quite angry, to be honest. I said, 'what's going on?' "At first I didn't even know what they were talking about... no-one told us anything about it." Deputy mayor Cherry Lucas this week said the hearings committee that heard from submitters on the project had been reassured by staff that all businesses and property owners affected had been approached. Asked yesterday about businesses' ongoing concerns around the consultation on the project, the council's climate and city growth general manager Scott MacLean said it had previously carried out various letter drops and corresponded with a variety of stakeholders in the area, including the University of Otago, Otago Polytechnic, landlords and business owners. Businesses in the area had asked the council to consider changes including reinstating four parking spaces planned for removal. It was now proposing to reinstate nine. The council's contact more recently had been primarily with landlords in the area, to try to address concerns raised by tenants during earlier consultation, but the council had planned to contact the business owners again "about now", Mr MacLean said. "However, the decision to re-consult on the parking changes, based on legal feedback, means this was not considered necessary at this stage. " ... we encourage all affected businesses to share their views too." The project aimed to deliver safety improvements for thousands of students who crossed Albany St each day, as well as other pedestrians, cyclists and scooter riders negotiating the area, he said. "It's important we get this right, which is why we're consulting again, and we look forward to hearing the community's feedback." Mr MacLean did not respond to questions about whether the council had any regrets or would apologise to businesses for the consultation process to date.
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Albany St cycle way consultation ‘a shambles'
Albany St business people (from left) Neeraj Kumar, of A+ Burgers, Sharleen Smith, of Eureka Cafe and Bar, Selina Ling, of Formosa Delight, Jason Kim, of Sushi Station, and Geri Chen, of The Flying Squid, are among those who voiced concerns about consultation on a proposed cycleway project in the street. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON More Dunedin businesses have slammed consultation on a central city cycleway, one describing the process as "a shambles". Eureka Cafe and Bar owner Sharleen Smith also said explanations offered by the Dunedin City Council for why some Albany St businesses were not initially consulted about the Albany St Connection project included that paperwork "must have blown away in the wind" or was thrown in the rubbish. The project aims to provide a safe walking and cycling connection between the shared Te Aka Ōtākou harbour path, Dunedin's tertiary area and the CBD. The council says it planned to contact the business owners again regarding their concerns "about now", but that it is no longer necessary since it is now re-consulting on parking changes following legal advice. Businesses are encouraged to "share their views too". Mrs Smith said she believed a total of 10 businesses on the street were in a similar situation to her. "Not one of us got a piece of paper, a face-to-face or anything, an email, to do with the consultation period before this was going to go to a vote." She provided the ODT with a July 2023 email to the council from her landlord, Greg Paterson, in which he said most of the businesses in Albany St had reportedly not been contacted. His tenants, Eureka Cafe and Bar, The Flying Squid, Formosa Delight, A+ Burgers, Sushi Station and Leith Liquorland all wanted to be heard, have the chance to object formally and have input into the process, he said. The whole process had been a "shambles", Mrs Smith said. Affected businesses met members of the council's transport department at Eureka in October 2023. They gave reasons for the perceived lack of consultation that were "flippant" and rude, Mrs Smith said. "[A staff member] looked me in the eye and he said, 'I came here, you were closed, I put it under your door, so it must have blown away in the wind'. "And then I questioned him, 'Well, what about Liquorland Leith?' "[He said] 'Yes, I went in there, I gave it to a young guy and he probably threw it in the rubbish'." They had since been given the chance to submit on changes to parking in the street, but not on the project as a whole, she said. She wanted the council to acknowledge the consultation was flawed and apologise to businesses and landlords. Others businesses spoken to yesterday had similar views. Sushi Station manager Jason Kim said any changes to nearby parking without their knowledge would affect the business. It would have been nice to have known earlier, he said. "It's a bit of negligence on their part." Formosa Delight owner Selina Ling said she knew nothing about the cycleway project until Mr Paterson told her ahead of the meeting at Eureka. "I was quite angry, to be honest. I said, 'what's going on?' "At first I didn't even know what they were talking about... no-one told us anything about it." Deputy mayor Cherry Lucas this week said the hearings committee that heard from submitters on the project had been reassured by staff that all businesses and property owners affected had been approached. Asked yesterday about businesses' ongoing concerns around the consultation on the project, the council's climate and city growth general manager Scott MacLean said it had previously carried out various letter drops and corresponded with a variety of stakeholders in the area, including the University of Otago, Otago Polytechnic, landlords and business owners. Businesses in the area had asked the council to consider changes including reinstating four parking spaces planned for removal. It was now proposing to reinstate nine. The council's contact more recently had been primarily with landlords in the area, to try to address concerns raised by tenants during earlier consultation, but the council had planned to contact the business owners again "about now", Mr MacLean said. "However, the decision to re-consult on the parking changes, based on legal feedback, means this was not considered necessary at this stage. " ... we encourage all affected businesses to share their views too." The project aimed to deliver safety improvements for thousands of students who crossed Albany St each day, as well as other pedestrians, cyclists and scooter riders negotiating the area, he said. "It's important we get this right, which is why we're consulting again, and we look forward to hearing the community's feedback." Mr MacLean did not respond to questions about whether the council had any regrets or would apologise to businesses for the consultation process to date.
Otago Daily Times
21-07-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Call to delay cycleway project
A contentious central city cycleway should be delayed two years to prevent "another round of chaos" being dumped on business owners' doorsteps, a Dunedin property investor says. However, Cr Jim O'Malley has defended the project and says he is so tired of accusations from "these same businessmen" he may quit local politics. His comments come after Jason La Hood called for the Albany St Connection project — which aims to provide a safe walking and cycling connection between the shared Te Aka Ōtākou harbour path, Dunedin's tertiary area and the CBD — to be delayed by 24 months, to give business owners in the city a chance to recover from an already difficult period. An "overwhelming concern" of business owners was why Dunedin city councillors seemed "hell-bent" on proceeding with work on the project this year, Mr La Hood said. Many had already endured "years of punishing disruption" — first the Covid-19 pandemic, then the George St upgrades project that "drove shoppers away with many businesses barely staying afloat". If the work proceeded this year, business owners would be "hit with a devastating trifecta of soaring rates, collapsing consumer spending and the prolonged disruption of street works". "What is worse is the growing perception that some councillors are indifferent to the suffering it's causing. "As one business owner put it, 'it feels like councillors are torturing us'. "The comment may sound emotional, but it is born from real exhaustion, fear and frustration from people who are simply trying to survive and support their families." A simple and "empathic" alternative was to delay the project by 24 months. "Let them trade through this economic storm without another round of chaos being dumped at their door." The council last week announced it had reintroduced nine carparks to the project's design along two areas on the northern side of Albany St. Public consultation would take place until August 7 regarding suggested parking restrictions. Mr La Hood was one of two business owners whom Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich said at an infrastructure services committee meeting last month had contacted him with concerns about the level of consultation on the project. Cr O'Malley said Mr La Hood said the same thing every time the council did street work. "And, frankly, it's difficult to perform your role as a councillor when you're accused of dirty things like that. "To be honest, I still haven't put in my form to go back for another three years because I am tired of this stuff. "Seriously, you work your arse off to run these committees and run them properly, you come up with a conclusion and then these same businessmen, every time, turn around and say 'I wasn't consulted'." There had been a "complete and utter lack of respect" for the consultation process, Cr O'Malley said. "It happened, it was done properly, it was well executed. "They just didn't get what they wanted." The project would not receive co-funding from the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi if it was not completed this year, he said. In late 2023, a hearings committee voted 2-1 to proceed with the then recommended proposal to remove 68 carparks in the street. But Cr O'Malley said this had never been put before the full council and believed building owners had since "got in and interfered with the process". "I am more concerned that it took 18 months and nothing happened at all, and now the mayor is going around and, suddenly, we're having another consultation." He believed Mr Radich was acting in business owners' interest, "and that's not necessarily the interest of the city as a whole". He likened it to talks had with the business community during the George St redevelopment. "I see this as just more of the same, the mayor and his mates." Mr Radich said yesterday he was "mates with many business owners, job holders, residents and shoppers in this city". As with George St, the "vast majority of them" wanted reasonable access to shops and services in Albany St. "There is a balance to be achieved between the majority of people who use cars to get around the city and the 5% or so who use bikes and want more cycle lanes." Council transport group manager Jeanine Benson said they acknowledged any construction project came with a level of disruption. "But our staff and contractors work hard to minimise this and support local businesses through these periods where we can."
