The Gisborne District Council has begun to remove some of the controversial ‘improvements’ to Gisborne city’s Grey Street after months of weekly protests by locals.
While the protesters might like to take credit for the change in policy, GDC says that it is simply a response to the safety audit they received and the subsequent discussions with their engineers.
The modification of the street is being carried out under the auspices of the NZTA’s “Streets for People” programme, which aims to “transition our streets to safer and more liveable spaces” – in effect making streets more accessible for pedestrians and cyclists and less useful for motor vehicles.
But critics of the Grey Street works say that the changes have actually made the street less safe for those on foot and on bicycles, as well as being near useless for vehicles. Businesses in the street have been experiencing loss of income and residents are angry that nearly a million dollars has been spent after the initial $350,000 budget blew out.
The reversals, which included removing obstructive concrete planter boxes and no-turning signs at the Kahutia Street intersection, have come as a relief to locals frustrated with navigating through a morass of confusing signage and unattractive street art. However, businesses in the area are still suffering from being less accessible to suppliers and customers, with some reporting a 30 per cent downturn.
Protests began in the street in early July and continued until mid-December, when the council stopped meeting for the summer break.
An unsettling incident occurred after one protest when the council’s CEO took to social media claiming that she had been verbally abused by protesters and that they had banged on her car with their signs. Around 40 people who had been present signed a statement saying that they had not observed this happening. Photographic and video evidence showed a peaceful event. A 105 report was lodged with the police, but there was no statement, so police have not followed it up.
Organiser of the protests, Trish Atkins, said she was sceptical about the project’s intent to improve safety around the skate park in Grey Street, since the speed limit had remained at 50 kph. Speed limits had been reduced on other streets in town.
Meanwhile, the protests have become a regular community event, with some locals driving through on purpose to toot in support and businesses on the street pitching in to help. Some locals see the Streets for People project as the narrow end of a sinister wedge, linked to globalism and the ‘climate’ agenda, while others simply think that money would be far better spent fixing potholes.
