[!ai]
Emphasizes ORC’s legislative responsibility for public transport, prioritising a reliable, affordable bus network that integrates with DCC’s walking and cycling infrastructure. She advocates for better regional connections between Dunedin and surrounding towns, embedding improvements within a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve framework to ensure cost-efficient, accountable investments that meet international sustainability standards.
The ORC’s legislative responsibility is public transport. My priority is a reliable, affordable, and efficient bus network that actually works for people. If services are frequent, punctual, and well-connected, it becomes far easier for residents to choose the bus over the car — which then complements the DCC’s investment in walking and cycling.
Looking across Otago, I see opportunities to better connect Dunedin with surrounding towns (Mosgiel, Port Chalmers, Balclutha, Oamaru) so people can realistically commute or travel without relying on private vehicles. By embedding these improvements within a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve framework, we can measure outcomes against international standards for sustainable cities while ensuring every local investment is cost-efficient and accountable.
Walking and cycling infrastructure is primarily a DCC responsibility. The ORC’s role is to ensure our public transport integrates effectively with those networks. For me, the priority is buses that connect with safe walking and cycling routes around schools, the university, and high-use commuter corridors.
Regionally, I want to see joined-up thinking so that active transport connections in Dunedin are not developed in isolation but as part of a wider Otago strategy. A UNESCO Biosphere approach would help us ensure investments are not just local one-offs but part of a bigger picture that scales outcomes across communities.
Decisions about urban design, George Street, the Octagon, traffic calming, sit with the DCC. The ORC’s role is more regional: ensuring transport, air quality, and environmental health are managed well so that public spaces are safe and enjoyable in the first place.
Where I see the ORC adding value is in regional coordination. Dunedin’s public spaces are important, but so too are the waterfronts in places like Oamaru or the town centres in Balclutha and Alexandra. By linking these spaces through a Biosphere Reserve framework, we can bring in global thinking to local needs; designing spaces that enhance wellbeing, reduce emissions, and support both residents and visitors across Otago.
Ngā mihi
Chanel
Chanel Gardner
Dunedin Ward Candidate – Otago Regional Council
info@chanelgardner.nz
Authorised by Chanel Gardner