Call for better signage about vehicle ban

THE Dunedin City Council needs to do more to educate the public about new rules prohibiting vehicles from the city’s beaches, it has been suggested.

The call came from Purakaunui resident Jane Davidson during the public forum at the start of yesterday’s full council meeting.

Ms Davidson told councillors there was a lack of signage warning visitors and residents alike about vehicle restrictions on city beaches.

And, with summer and a wildlife breeding season approaching, she was concerned to see the numbers of vehicles hitting the sand ramping up again.

The reserves and beaches bylaw 2017 had been approved by councillors in May 2017 and, following a long delay, signed off in Wellington in April this year.

The bylaw bans vehicles from city beaches and reserves, with exceptions for emergency services, surf lifesavers, fish ermen and windpowered buggies.

Ms Davidson said signage had begun to be installed in recent weeks, but remained inadequate, and many people she spoke to — visitors and residents alike — appeared unaware of the new rules.

Some signs had also been removed, as had a large metal gate installed by the Department of Conservation to prevent vehicles from reaching one beach — before the concrete was even dry, she said.

Several councillors suggested the same concerns were being echoed in other communities across Dunedin, and Cr David BensonPope asked for a report on the issue from staff to a subsequent meeting.

‘‘This problem was not unanticipated, but I don’t believe enough has happened.’’

An advocate for South Dunedin is urging the Dunedin City Council to get on with building a permanent hub in the community.

Eleanor Doig, from the South Dunedin Community Network, told yesterday’s meeting the community needed a permanent hub to replace the existing popup facility.

The project had been ‘‘on the books’’ since 1989, and even now was not budgeted to begin until 2020. She urged the council to capitalise on the community’s engagement with the popup hub, or risk missing out on the momentum it had created.

‘‘The energy in the community is there now,’’ she said.