9.3 Focus on Centres

Problem

Accessibility within and between Dunedin’s centres and the central city needs to be improved for public transport and active travel modes in order to achieve the Spatial Plan and Integrated Transport Strategy vision for thriving and resilient centres, linked by a low carbon transport system.

Strategic response

Improve the connections within and between Dunedin’s central city and centres so that they become highly accessible by active travel modes and public transport, and improve the road environment within centres to create safe, pleasant, people-friendly places.

Benefits

• Increased connectivity between Dunedin’s central city and centres, and between centres, for cycling and public transport.
• Increased proportion of Dunedin’s population live within a 10-minute walk of a centre or high frequency bus route.
• Improved walking and cycling connectivity to centres and the central city from surrounding residential areas, to support thriving community hubs.
• Reduced negative effects of traffic passing through centres.

Goal

Injury crashes have reduced by 20% (compared to 2013 levels) in Dunedin’s centres by 2024.

Strategic approach

The Spatial Plan defines centres as commercial areas that have high levels of social and economic exchange, based on their being the focus for employment, retail and community, arts and cultural activities in the city, as well as areas of significant DCC investment in amenity features. This includes all those centres listed in the Spatial Plan’s centres hierarchy, defined as principal, suburban, neighbourhood and rural centres⁴⁸. The Spatial Plan identifies that some of these centres are within Dunedin’s urban area (such as Mornington or Caversham), while others are in outlying residential settlements called ‘townships’ (such as Waikouaiti or Middlemarch).

The Integrated Transport Strategy is primarily concerned with the role these centres and townships perform as key transportation hubs. For this reason the Strategy uses the term ‘centre’ more broadly than the Spatial Plan to include all those centres and townships identified in the Spatial Plan (and parts of the wider transport network surrounding them), as well as some other major areas of transport activity that also operate as transport hubs, such as Moana Pool, some schools and the Tertiary Campus.

The Social Wellbeing Strategy recognises the importance of people being connected to the places they need to go by safe, affordable and user friendly transport options, whilst the Spatial Plan commits Dunedin to developing as a compact city, organised around an integrated network of hubs based around centres. In terms of transport links, this can be illustrated schematically as shown in Figure 21.

Figure 21. Schematic illustration of compact city with integrated network of hubs based around centres, connected by walking, cycling and public transport. In addition to centres this may also include other key areas of activity, such as recreational or educational facilities. Illustration assumes underlying road connections maintained for vehicular use.

The DCC’s vision broadly sees centres and the central city linked by a public transport network, and sees most residential development occurring within a 10-minute walk of an existing centre or high frequency bus route. This means that most people would live close enough to their local centre to be able to walk or cycle to it, and that from there, they could either join the Strategic Cycle Network and cycle to other centres or the city centre, or they could access the public transport network, which again would link them to key destinations.

This Strategy focusses on how transport, particularly active modes and public transport, can better support thriving centres. This approach will enable people to choose modes of travel other than the private car, with benefits for health, amenity, community, the environment and increasing resilience to volatile fuel prices. Undertaking journeys by private car is still expected to be desirable for the foreseeable future, and the transport network’s ability to support car travel will continue to be maintained. The strategic approach will be as follows.

Integrating land use and transport planning – supporting the Spatial Plan’s vision

The Spatial Plan seeks to maintain a vibrant central city supported by a hierarchy of suburban and rural centres that are social and economic hubs for local communities with quality built form and a high quality public realm. Ensuring high pedestrian amenity and safety in centres requires management of public car parking and activities that generate high levels of vehicle movements.

The Spatial Plan promotes more mixed-use residential development in the central city and suburban centres and residential intensification particularly in areas with high levels of accessibility to larger centres and well-serviced public transport routes. The key method for achieving this is the Dunedin City District Plan, which establishes objectives, policies and rules guiding the type of land use activity that can occur in different parts of the city. The District Plan (under review as at 2013) will be reviewed to give effect to the Spatial Plan’s aim of more medium-density housing and residential infill. This will help support local services and mean that more people live within an easy walking distance of a centre and other key destinations. Provision of local services (such as shops and health centres) close to where people live reduces the need to travel long distances, benefiting the local economy and increasing people’s disposable income, as less is spent on travel. In 2011, 39% of the residential units in Dunedin’s residential zones were within 400m of the central city or local activity zones (approximately a five to 10-minute walk) and 68% were within 800m (approximately a 10 to 20 minute walk)⁴⁹.

Central City

Through this Strategy the DCC proposes to undertake a major upgrade of the transport system in the central city area,with a focus on safety and accessibility. A concept will be developed that draws on previous work, such as the DCC’s Central City Plan, as well as analysis of crash data and accessibility problems. The aim would be to significantly improve the pedestrian priority within the central city, to support a thriving city centre where people want to spend time, socialise, shop and do business. Examples of possible treatments, requiring further investigation, could include Barnes Dance crossings at key intersections, more pedestrian refuges or full pedestrianisation of areas.

In order for this to work it will be necessary to reduce the amount of through traffic in some parts of the central city and support better access to the central city as a destination for all users. Reducing the amount of through traffic in the central city will only work if adequate alternative routes are provided. To achieve this it would be necessary to include enhancement of existing bypass corridors to the east and west of the central city, to provide for freight and arterial traffic. This approach will not only improve the vitality and safety of the central city, but also benefit motorists who will experience fewer delays. Any provision for pedestrian safety and accessibility would also take into account the needs of cyclists. Any proposals will be consulted on with the community and stakeholders.

Centres Programme

The Spatial Plan intends that centres become thriving hubs of activity, supporting the provision of goods and services. To support this goal, and at the same time improve safety in centres, a Centres Programme will be developed. The aim of the Centres Programme is to ensure Dunedin’s centres are great places for people, in terms of traffic safety, accessibility and amenity, particularly by giving pedestrians increased priority within each centre.

To achieve this, each centre has been assessed for safety and accessibility, to help identify those centres with the most serious problems that need to be prioritised for early action. The centres have been split into two categories – major upgrade and minor upgrade. Funding for these centre upgrades will be obtained from existing operational budgets where possible. However, the magnitude of improvements in some larger centres exceeds the scope of existing budgets, and separate funding will need to be secured. As illustrated previously in Figure 14, the central city area has by far the most serious safety problems, and this is prioritised as the first area requiring a major upgrade.

Centres upgrades will also include improvements to key designated strategic walking routes within a 10-minute walking distance of each centre. Requests for improvements to footpaths will be prioritised according to whether they are on designated walking routes and their level of risk. Where possible, these improvements will be made as part of existing programmes. Providing for the needs of cyclists will be incorporated into any centre upgrade.

Major centre upgrades

Mosgiel

A major safety and accessibility upgrade is proposed for the Mosgiel town centre. As with the central city, the aim of the Mosgiel Town Centre upgrade will be to improve safety and accessibility, particularly for vulnerable users, to ensure the vitality and prosperity of the Mosgiel shopping area. Providing for vulnerable users is particularly important in Mosgiel as there is a high proportion of elderly residents and young people, who are especially dependent on good pedestrian and cycling facilities and high levels of mobility access.

The key areas to be addressed in Mosgiel will be identified through consultation with the community, but are likely to focus on Gordon Road, Factory Road and the Gordon Road – Factory Road intersection. There is an opportunity to significantly improve the heart of Mosgiel for residents and businesses, and create a thriving social and economic hub. Gordon Road is State Highway 87, and is administered by the NZTA. Any project to upgrade the Mosgiel town centre will therefore involve a collaborative approach.

As mentioned above, several of Dunedin’s other centres have also been identified as in need of major safety and accessibility upgrades. These include (in no particular order):

• Gardens (North East Valley)
• Caversham
• Mornington
• Green Island
• North Dunedin
• South Dunedin (where some major work has already been undertaken).

Concepts will be developed for each of these centres in consultation with the community as they come up on the Centres Programme. Where other non-transport works are also planned for a centre (such as urban streetscape and amenity upgrades, or sub-surface utility maintenance), the DCC will co-ordinate with other agencies and the community to ensure opportunities for integrated delivery are maximised. Those remaining centres not requiring a major upgrade will be improved over time through minor targeted improvements carried out through existing budgets and work programmes.

The tertiary and medical precinct

As outlined above, the tertiary area is also treated as a centre in this Integrated Transport Strategy because it functions as key transport hub and has unique transportation issues. The wider tertiary area and the adjacent medical precinct (which includes the Medical School and Dunedin Public Hospital) have a high level of vulnerable road user activity and area-specific transport challenges. Some of the streets and intersections in the area are high-risk sites that need attention. The tertiary institutions have signalled a desire to see greater priority given to pedestrians and bicycle users in and around the campus area.

To assess and provide for this a safety and accessibility upgrade is also being proposed for the tertiary precinct, with a view to increasing pedestrian safety and connectivity, providing safe access for cyclists and addressing existing parking challenges. A range of approaches are proposed to address these challenges and the provision of viable travel choices can play an important role in alleviating parking pressure and addressing challenges of safety and accessibility, by enabling people to opt for active modes or public transport, whether as a preferred mode or as occasional options, and thereby reducing vehicle movements and demand for car parking space.

Any investigation and subsequent proposals will be conducted in consultation with tertiary students and staff, the tertiary institutions, other key stakeholders and the wider community. Parking issues in the tertiary area and medical precinct will also be addressed through the Second Generation District Plan which, at the time of writing, is currently under development.

Safe speed in centres – integrating design speed and speed limit

As discussed in the Focus on Safety (Section 8.1), the highest concentration of vulnerable user activity occurs in centres and traffic speed needs to be managed in a manner appropriate for the mix of uses and activities that take place in those centres. Accordingly, the DCC has recognised that 50km/h traffic speed is too fast for most centres. This has been recognised at a national level, through the Safer Journeys strategy and a review is currently underway to establish new national policy on appropriate speeds. The DCC will work toward a top traffic speed of 30km/h in centres while remaining flexible as new national guidance takes shape. The DCC will review the appropriate desired speed for centres in Dunedin as part of any review of this Integrated Transport Strategy.

To achieve lower speeds in centres, it will generally be necessary to implement a lower speed limit in conjunction with redesign of the road environment (based on the consideration of ‘design speed’ (discussed in Section 8.1)⁵⁰. When lower speed limits are implemented, lower design speeds will typically need to be achieved through traffic calming measures, urban design and amenity features and improved provision for pedestrians, cyclists and mobility impaired users.

Reduction in speeds within centres will have the added benefit of making centres more accessible, pleasant places where people will want to spend time, which will have economic benefits for businesses. The DCC will achieve lower speeds in centres through the implementation of the Centres Programme, described above.

Car parking

Car parking has both positive and negative effects. Provision of parking in the central city and other centres is an important way of providing access and supporting the economic activities occurring in the centre. As the private car is by far the most common mode of travel for Dunedin residents at the moment, it is important to provide the appropriate level and type of parking to support car access to these areas. However, provision of parking in centres is primarily on-street, which often conflicts with other activities in the centre, such as pedestrian movement, public transport and general streetscape and amenity. The traffic movement generated by parking also has negative effects in terms of pollution and safety problems. This tension has been described as “a real dilemma between the individual’s desire to own and park a car and the collective desire to enjoy a safe and attractive street”⁵¹. The availability and cost of parking is also a key consideration in whether people prefer to drive or use other travel modes⁵².

All of Dunedin’s on-street parking is controlled by the DCC, while off-street parking is provided by DCC and private operators (in surface level car parks and parking buildings). Aside from public casual parking, there are also District Plan requirements for businesses in certain zones to provide staff and customer parking, and in some residential zones, owners are required to supply a ratio of car parks per bedroom. The requirement for, and provision of, parking needs to be carefully managed in an integrated way to ensure appropriate access to goods and services is provided, urban amenity is maintained, unproductive use of real estate is minimised, road safety is improved and non-car travel modes can be adequately and safely provided for. Achieving an appropriate balance between these considerations is complex and in Dunedin, disproportionate priority has traditionally been given to low-cost on-street car parking. Under this Strategy, the DCC’s approach will be to increasingly redress this imbalance.

The DCC will develop a Parking Management Policy that will sit under this Strategy and give effect to the vision and objectives of this Strategy. The development of this policy will include consultation with the community.

Parking in the central city and centres

The DCC carries out a central city parking survey every five years, to monitor and review the provision of parking in the central city. This survey, last carried out by an independent consultant in 2012, found:

• Overall parking in Central Dunedin is well managed.
• Parking restrictions radiate out from the Core Central City in a logical manner from Paid P30 along George Street to commuter parking provided in the Outer Central City.
• Paid P60 parking in the Central City was inconsistent with the demand in the areas it is provided and therefore it may be appropriate to change Paid P60 parking to Paid P120 parking.
• There is also scope to alter how Paid P240 parking is distributed in the Central City.
• Even at peak times 20% of the parking spaces in the central city area are vacant.

The current paid parking area is shown in Figure 22.

Figure 22. Central City Paid Parking Area