Wellington council keeps the Golden Mile in long-term plan

There has been strong opposition to Wellington City Council's controversial move to keep retention of the Golden Mile in its long term plan.

It follows yesterday's six hour-long council meeting, where more than 20 amendments were made in a bid to save $558 million.

The need to amend the long term plan comes after councillors voted last month not to sell its 34 percent stake in Wellington Airport.

The $113m Golden Mile upgrade will see private cars banned between Lambton Quay and Courtenay Place, and offer walking and cycling improvements.

It is a former project of Let's Get Wellington Moving and partly funded by Waka Kotahi.

Whanau told Morning Report the meeting was "very hearty and robust but the outcome was positive".

Although council staff had made a plan for projected savings of $558m, councillors had not agreed to this although some spending cuts had been made.

"We will meet our risk and remain financially prudent now with this LTP."

Social housing, climate initiatives, water infrastructure and the Golden Mile remained her priorities, she said.

Whanau wanted to protect the Golden Mile because it was "a key priority" during her election campaign.

"It's had a lot of flak but it is a key transformation project that will really transform not only Courtenay Place but Lambton Quay as well to be in line with the world and how they have redesigned the streets to prioritise pedestrians, public transport and cycling ... it really does lead to a much better city. ... People don't like change but it has to be done."

It was already happening in Auckland and Dunedin and the capital needed to follow suit, Whanau said.

If it was put on hold it would increase in price due to inflation and rising construction costs and the money would need to be spent eventually.

It would also provide jobs for hundreds of people.

"It will never be the right time ..."

Courtenay Place was dying and while there was disagreement on what should be done, someone needed to be brave to push it through and that was what she intended to do.

Whanau also confirmed she intended standing for re-election as mayor at the next local body elections next year.

"Yep, still standing," she said.

Irritation over Golden Mile decision

Councillor Tony Randle said although he thought the meeting went well, he was very disappointed that the Golden Mile remained in the Long Term Plan.

"It's enormously frustrating, we have a city that's really running out of money. It needs to find more money for emergency funding and we nearly added in nearly $60 million, we put that towards the Lambton Quay side of Golden Mile as if we're still able to transform the whole city. It's crazy," Randle said.

He said that money should be kept aside in case there was an earthquake.

He also disagreed with the mayor about there being nothing for the government and the Crown observer to worry about, saying he felt railroaded.

"I think there's a lot to worry about... we've had a very difficult process behind the scenes, we only got the actual numbers of the long term amendment plan from officers on Friday. And even the answers to some of the key questions where we're still getting them as late as 5pm yesterday (Monday) and we're meant to go and make decisions on information we've just received," said Randle.

Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young was also disappointed at the vote, saying it was a wasted opportunity to engage with businesses and retailers.

"We know what's been happening down Thorndon Quay has been disastrous for businesses. There's certainly a significant period of time before it's going to be finished. It'll be another six or nine months before it's finished and we know that businesses are closing," Young said.

She said to proceed with work on the Golden Mile during a time where Wellington's economy was struggling will result in more businesses closing.

She explained there were a range of concerns from businesses about the project going ahead.

"Right from the basic thing around availability of parking for people to come into the city, how it will actually work through with deliveries and freight coming through, the concern that we don't have enough people coming into the city and it's another barrier, how will we make sure that the city becomes attractive and just the challenges that businesses have got to survive right now," Young said.

She said businesses would not be able to survive if construction were to take about two to three years.

The Wellington Chamber of Commerce agreed.

In a statement it said the council chose to instead go ahead with it, despite years of controversy behind it.

"Proceeding with the full Golden Mile project will cause legitimate concerns for business. It appears the council chose to do this because they feared the government would pull its funding, instead of working with them for a better outcome.

"The council still needs to approve a draft budget, then consult with Wellington ratepayers before the Long-Term Plan is confirmed. We encourage the council to listen to the real concerns residents and businesses have expressed for some time."

Bar owner Jeremy Smith said he was concerned the current design plan was not practical enough for business owners.

He wanted the plan ditched because businesses were carrying all the risk, not the council.

"A three-year disruption to the street in the hope that it's suddenly going to improve things is risking my business on a wing and a prayer to be honest."

Originally they were promised more outdoor space but the decision to retain the cycleway would eat into the area.

There was no logical area for the cycleway to carry on to after leaving Courtenay Place, he said.

The Golden Mile project emphasises space for bikes and pedestrians.

Cycling advocate Patrick Morgan said it was a great opportunity for the city to invest in its streets.

"It will make it lovely for people to walk, to cycle, to catch the bus, to linger and to shop."

The country has been "cheaping out" on infrastructure for years, it had the backing of the voters and while it would be disruptive during construction he had no doubt people would love it.

"Pedestrian-focused streets are amazing for businesses."

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