Christchurch developers threaten to pull out of central city projects after plans to make some streets one-way
From reporter Steven Walton:
Leading Christchurch developers are scaling back major projects, putting others on hold and threatening to pull out of the central city altogether in protest of council plans to make some streets one-way.
Philip Carter and Shaun Stockman made stark warnings to Christchurch city councillors on Wednesday as they vented about a $33 million plan to make roads around the new Te Kaha stadium more pedestrian-friendly.
One of the most significant proposals in the plan is to make Lichfield St, between Madras and Manchester St, one-way with a 10kph speed limit, though three quarters of the 1200 submitters supported this.
A leading transport academic was among those in support and said the streets had to be made safer.
But Carter and Stockman said the council was breaking promises of earlier post-earthquake rebuild documents, which had left them without certainty.
Carter, who developed The Crossing, said the documents showed Lichfield St would remain two-way.
The street was an “artery” for his car park at The Crossing and the council was “tampering” with it, he said.
Making it one-way would break trust, he said, adding that he had “deep concerns” about anything that affected traffic coming into the city.
He also criticised council plans to make part of Gloucester St one-way, which were recently put on hold.
“You guys [the council] continue to make it so hard,” Carter said.
“You are now driving investments away.”
In light of the council proposals, Carter said:
- He would stop a planned development on the old Holiday Inn site, despite having attracted an international tenant with no other New Zealand stores.
- He was no longer prepared to be involved in the planned car park for the new Catholic Cathedral precinct.
- He would downscale his planned international hotel beside the new Te Pae convention centre.
- Carter said he also wanted to stop work on an office building in Cathedral Square , but could not because construction had recently commenced.
He said he recently showed a London investor a site near the convention centre and asked him if he wanted to put a hotel there. After hearing about the Gloucester St plans, the investor replied: “Why would I”, Carter said.
A council analysis of those who wanted Lichfield St to remain two-way found many were concerned about loss of parking and traffic flow. Some also wanted cars to take priority.
But planning just for cars was “at best unbelievably naive and at worst plain dumb”, according to Canterbury University professor Simon Kingham, who is also chief science adviser to the Ministry of Transport.
“You need to provide good alternatives, [such as] walking, cycling and public transport and people will change their behaviour,” he said.
“This is clearly what the evidence says.”
Kingham backed council staff’s view that the streets had to be safer and more pedestrian-friendly.
He said he was horrified when the plans were paused last year.
Youth-led climate action organisation Generation Zero also supported the one-way option and said the streets should be redesigned to be safer for pedestrians, cyclists, scooter and mobility device users.
The council analysis said submitters backing the one-way plan supported enhanced pedestrian access, more safety, as well as the greening and beautification of the street.
Five Lichfield St businesses supported the one-way plan while four wanted the two-way option.
Out of all Christchurch businesses that submitted, 17 supported one-way while 35 wanted two-way.
Developer Shaun Stockman was among the latter. He said his company’s board was so alarmed by the proposed revamp that it had paused two projects.
“If these proposals as per go ahead, we will be stopping any further investment in Christchurch CBD fullstop,” he said.
Stockman claimed the revamp overlooked the elderly and disabled communities; removed an unnecessary amount of car parking; and would take away valuable trade from businesses.
Stockman said he did not own buildings in the affected streets, but owned some in surrounding streets.
The views of residents and businesses are now being considered by councillors Melanie Coker, Tyrone Fields, Sara Templeton, Mark Peters, and Yani Johanson.
They will make a recommendation to council on how to proceed with the revamp, with a final decision to be made by the full council.
Poll: Is the increase in disability parking fines fair?
In October, the fine for parking in a designated mobility car park without a permit has jumped from $150 to $750—a 400% increase!
The goal is to keep these spaces open for those who truly need them. Do you think this big increase in the fine is fair? Share your thoughts below.
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89.3% Yes, it's fair
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9.9% No, it's unreasonable
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0.8% Other - I'll share below
House fire causing road closures
Pages Road is closed this afternoon from Breezes Road, this is due to a house that has caught fire in the area.
Coastal Ward Community Board member, Alex Hewison, shared the closure on a local Facebook page.
Fire and Emergency are at the scene but further details have not been shared at this stage.
Avoid the area where possible.
Have your say on Canterbury’s public transport
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
Canterbury residents are being encouraged to have their say on public transport in the region.
Environment Canterbury has released its draft public transport plan and is seeking submissions.
The draft plan outlines a vision for public transport in the region and notes key priorities such as improving the environment, growing patronage, accessibility, innovation and technology, and affordability.
‘‘Public transport takes many forms with communities across our region,’’ councillor Peter Scott said.
‘‘With limited funding available, we need to make sure we make the best decisions to deliver a public transport network that is integrated with urban development, innovative and meets the needs of new and existing customers.
‘‘Effective public transport is the lifeline that connects us to work, school, recreation and our friends and family, so it is important we get this right.’’
The Canterbury’s population is growing and by 2050, it is projected 700,000 people will be living in Greater Christchurch.
The draft plan covers public transport for the region, which includes the Metro service (Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri), MyWay by Metro in Timaru, Total Mobility and Community Vehicle Trusts.
It was developed in partnership with local councils and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.
Environment Canterbury has been planning to step up its public transport efforts by increasing the frequency of existing services and introducing mass rapid transport in Greater Christchurch.
But these plans have been stalled by a lack of public transport funding in the Government’s 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme.
A proposal to allow people to travel with domestic pets is also included in the draft plan.
Having pets on buses has been successfully trial in other parts of New Zealand, councillor Joe Davies said.
‘‘We’re keen to understand what controls are needed for our bus users in Greater Christchurch and Timaru to be comfortable with pets on public transport.
It is proposed to allow adult passengers to bring a single pet on board, as long it is in an approved carrier at off-peak times, weekdays between 9am and 3pm or after 6pm, and during weekends.
Another proposal would loosen those restrictions in future to allow for leashed and muzzled dogs and increasing the limit to two pets per passenger.
‘‘We want to gauge how people feel about these proposals. Now is the time to have your say,’’ Davies said.
Submissions close on Thursday, October 24.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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