Tory Whanau risking it all on a golden gamble – Editorial

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau is keen for another term in charge. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Tory Whanau has staked her claim in the ground ahead of this year’s mayoral race, gambling her chance of holding on to power on a redesigned Golden Mile.

The glaring problem with such a plan: the inevitable road works and traffic chaos that will now provide a backdrop to voting this local body election.

If one thing’s universally accepted, it’s that people hate lengthy traffic disruptions and road cones.

The Wellington City Council finally revealed its design for revamping Courtenay Place this week, complete with rain gardens, widened footpaths, a new cycleway and pavers that aren’t as slippery as the current bricks.

Fly-through footage has been released so people can see for themselves what’s on offer.

It’s hard to get too excited about the proposal at this stage however, with no contract signed to deliver the work, and fancy fly-throughs having been released for various other projects that never saw the light of day in Wellington.

Think the Basin Reserve flyover, and revamping the other end of the Golden Mile – Lambton Quay – that now sits in limbo after the scrapping of Let’s Get Wellington Moving.

The other cause for hesitation is October’s local body election. If Whanau doesn’t get a contract signed before then and gets voted out, the whole idea could be consigned to the history books.

She is well aware of that risk, telling reporters that “nothing can be guaranteed, really”.

The one part that is guaranteed is a new intersection at the end of Courtenay Place. The contract for that part has been signed and will take eight months to complete.

With working starting in April, it won’t be finished until the end of the year. Until after the election.

It will take this long because hours of work will be limited to minimise disruption to peak-hour traffic.

Work on Courtenay Place will then take a further two years, once – or if – the contract for that part is actually signed.

Nearby Wakefield St is already facing major disruption with a new wastewater rising main being built.

That project started in January and is set to be completed by August.

This all means that road cones, congestion, delays and general construction disruption will be front of mind for Wellingtonians when the time comes to vote.

It’s hard to hold on to a vision, no matter how appealing, when it feels like the city’s being held back by never-ending road works.

“Fixing” Courtenay Place has proved Whanau’s kryptonite during her time in charge, with the failed Reading Cinema deal a perfect example of how complex the challenge is.

In her defence, the mayor hasn’t wavered in her determination to restore what she sees as the city’s heart.

If she’ll actually get the chance to achieve such a feat remains to be seen, thanks to transformation fatigue and gridlock.

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