Time to close the deal

Winter is well and truly closing in now. The nights may be bracing, but the days are mild. Compared to most of the rest of the country, winter lets us off easy in Nelson.

Accordingly, it’s not a stretch to dine outdoors year-round without having to wear a snowsuit. Most cafes facilitate this, and some even have blankets on hand to take the edge off the chill.

All of this makes it even more short-sighted, then, that the closure of upper Trafalgar St still has not been cemented as a permanent move.

By almost any measure, the trial closure over summer was a roaring success. Cafes and restaurants quickly took advantage of the space, and diners enjoyed the vibe. Weekends saw the whole space quickly fill up. The Ducati Club even went there, parked up and spent up large while the crowds admired their machines.

Retail may be feeling the pinch, but it’s hard to ignore the rise of hospitality at the same time. Any day of the week, people are heading out in decent numbers to dine out.

So it’s a stretch to say that everyone wants to dine al fresco at night – but what’s the real harm in having that option open to people?

It’s disappointing that in light of the results of last summer’s experiment, the city council is still wavering like a speedo needle over whether to close the street permanently.

There’s still talk about having a conversation over whether to close it permanently. A report outlining the results of the trial is due to arrive in August. So we haven’t really moved off the starting line.

The council is being cautious and indecisive about something it could achieve a lot of goodwill from acting swiftly on.

Another trial is planned for next summer, which would further reinforce the success of the previous trial – and then it could be considered and voted on to make at least the summer closure permanent. No-one could accuse council of not following due process, but why delay it?

The issue isn’t new. It has been the subject of tepid debate for years. Having taken the bold step of closing the street for a summer, a lot of the arguments against it quickly evaporated.

The loss of car parking, reduced pedestrian access, one fewer link between Selwyn Place and Hardy St – the public quickly adapted to all of these, and if it was to the severe detriment of anyone, that hasn’t really come across.

The nature of council decisionmaking is that it has to move slowly and deliberately on some matters – the ‘‘measure twice, cut once’’ approach. But it has shown that it can move with lightning speed on things like special housing areas. Why not continue that momentum with upper Trafalgar St?

Close it permanently, and this space will evolve as businesses and the public grow into it.

Closing it every summer is simply a half-measure, and the resulting impermanence means it is never going to reach its full potential as a social heart of this town. Just ask Mapua residents how the wharf area is working out for them.