‘Meet me on Gloucester’ project ruffles feathers

Artist’s impression of Gloucester Street’s vibrant revamp. Source: Christchurch City Council. 

The home of Tūranga Library and Isaac Theatre Royal is undergoing a $1.4-million makeover to make it more “people-friendly”. But with change comes criticism. 

Isaac Theatre Royal operational manager Matthias Mard said that while he liked the look of the changes and slower traffic speeds, “it presents several operational challenges and safety issues that need to be addressed.” 

Mard's main concerns are visibility issues with planter boxes, 40-foot truck maneuverability, and risk to pedestrians, including children who may not be seen by drivers. 

“When they play around the planter boxes… that's great, but it's still the street… it just has the potential [for] accidents.” 

Damaged planter box on Gloucester Street. Source: Elsie Williams. 

The Christchurch City Council gave room for the Theatre to comment on these changes. Mard said, “some of the things have been taken into consideration, other things haven't,” further pointing out the scarce visibility of planter boxes and need for better enforcement of the 10km/h speed limit. 

Isaac Theatre Royal situated in the middle of the CCC’s ‘Meet me on Gloucester’ trial. Source: Elsie Williams. 

Tania Smith, marketing director for nearby business Rollickin Gelato, is worried the changes could impact business by discouraging people from driving into the city.  

“You’ve got to remember, not everyone's wanting to walk or bus for miles. There is a big generation who need to be able to drive.” 

After watching numerous businesses fail, she wonders if the design for more people-friendly streets will drive driving customers away.  

“We just want to be just the grooviest city out there and I'm not sure if that walkway, or closing it off to traffic, is helping the natural flow through the city.” 

As part of efforts to promote ‘Meet me on Gloucester’, the Council organised a coffee-fueled morning street rave. 

Findal Proebst was among the 700 attendees, unaware of the gig’s collaboration with the street project. Proebst was supportive of making Gloucester Street more pedestrian-friendly. 

“Every city needs a part of the roads that are [more pedestrian-friendly]. So yes, it's about time Christchurch caught up.” 

Morning rave attendee Mandi Portegys throwing her hands in the air to radio DJ Sin. Source: Elsie Williams 

Mard was also happy about the event. “I mean, it's great to have activation… don't get me wrong. We really love this, it's great to get people back into the CBD.” 

Despite this, he asserted that regardless of its attractiveness, the operational challenges presented by the street changes were still real a problem. 

When approached with these concerns from the Theatre, the Council’s spokesperson Jacob Bradbury reiterated their eagerness to “ensure their operation is not detrimentally affected by the changes to the street,” and their commitment to working with nearby businesses to “understand and remedy any issues they have.”  

The 10-week trial ends on March 18th, with hearings expected in April and a decision by councillors about its permanency expected in June.