Another embarrassment for Dunedin City Council after a ridiculous ban on the name of some mountain bike tracks received attention through last week and was slammed in an ODT editorial yesterday.
3 June: Mountain bike group ordered to rename tracks
Mountain Biking Otago has been ordered to rename three of its tracks after the Dunedin City Council deemed them inappropriate.
The Mrs, The Mistress and Ginger Cougar on Signal Hill in Dunedin will be replaced with more appropriate names approved by the council.
Council parks and recreation group manager Robert West said it had received two complaints about the names of three Signal Hill mountain biking tracks.
Staff agreed the names were inappropriate and raised the matter with Mountain Biking Otago, he said.
Mountain Biking Otago president Kristy Booth said she was ‘‘disappointed for all involved’’.
The tracks had these names for seven to 10 years, and ‘‘in this time there has been no negative comments bought to our attention’’.
‘‘We don’t find them inappropriate within the context of how their names came to be.’’
Volunteers would need to spend a significant amount of time club funds correcting one person’s complaint, she said.
The cost of the changes was ‘‘a considerable amount, as it’s not just three signs at the beginning of each of these tracks, but other signage that contain their names elsewhere.’’
Mrs Booth said the committee were meeting tomorrow to confirm new names and proceed with new signage.
But DCC doesn’t work that fast, or easily. They haven’t yet approved new names.
And it doesn’t just involve the renaming of three track signs. There is a network of tracks on Signal Hill, with maps showing all tracks and track signs that refer to connections to other tracks.
And there is the website for the mountain biking area, plus a number of other online references.
4 June: ‘Inappropriate’ track names to go
This says much the same thing.
6 June: Mountain Biking Otago sign ‘rehomed’ to Tokoroa
The “Ginger Cougar” has found a new home.
The Mountain Biking Otago track sign was one of three “inappropriate” signs the Dunedin City Council asked to be taken down earlier this week after two complaints from the public – alongside The Mrs and The Mistress.
The Tokoroa Mountain Biking Club offered to rehome the sign, a move welcomed by Mountain Biking Otago president Kristy Booth.
Mountain Biking New Zealand president Chris Arbuckle said the sign, which was put up while he was president of Mountain Biking Otago in 2011, did not have an inappropriate meaning.
“The name ginger cougar came about because the rocks on that track were orange in colour, and cougar refers to a cat, because the trail is hard to chase.
“The track names went through a formal process before council and were signed off. They’ve seen these names before.”
Mr Arbuckle said naming signs was often the only “reward” volunteers had for hundreds of hours of work.
Dunedin City Council parks and recreation group manager Robert West said the council had a responsibility to act on public concerns.
And a responsibility to not act on trivial concerns of a couple of people.
“Signal Hill is public land designated as a recreation reserve, managed by the council for the benefit of the community.
That is for the benefit of the mountain biking community.
“We believe the names were inappropriate for tracks on public land and so asked Mountain Biking Otago to rename the track.”
“Council staff have not identified any other inappropriate track names on Signal Hill … no other name changes are being considered.”
So they seem to have checked all the track names
He said work on discussing new names for the three affected tracks was “progressing well”.
Editorial 8 June: Off track
There must be more important things for the Dunedin City Council to worry about than “inappropriate” names for mountain bike tracks.
Has this year truly gone dotty? Putting aside the small matter of a global pandemic, is the only story to capture the public imagination as much as those brightly coloured dots in George St to be the demise of The Mrs, The Mistress and Ginger Cougar?
For, yes, those are the offending names on Signal Hill that Mountain Biking Otago has been ordered by the council to relabel following an absolute tidal wave of public backlash … well, following two complaints in a decade.
“Political correctness gone mad” is a lazy phrase generally uttered by those struggling to cope with a wider push for a more tolerant society. But does anything else so perfectly encapsulate this example of bureaucratic pettiness?
We do not highlight those who made the original complaints — for there will always be complaints, no matter the topic. This one is squarely about a city council and its ability to make something out of nothing.
As Mountain Biking New Zealand president Chris Arbuckle pointed out, the sign, which was put up while he was president of Mountain Biking Otago in 2011, did not have an inappropriate meaning — it was genuinely named after the colour of rocks and the difficulty of the trail — and had been signed off by the council at the time.
It raises some questions around council processes. And while the DCC does indeed have a “responsibility to act on public concerns”, it also has the freedom to decide what is completely trivial.
Alas this council seems to be losing the respect of Dunedin citizens.
And this isn’t helped by difficulties in approving new track names. Mountain Biking Otago said yesterday:
We appreciate everyones support over the track signs, it might be a case of PC gone wrong but it’s time to move forward.
We had been working with the DCC to get new names approved but are at a bit of a stand still. Initially it was no gender names but with a recent list of potential names but there seems to be no consistency and anything that could have a double meaning is being rejected without explanation.
“It would be lovely to find names for The Mrs and The Mistress that continue to link the two tracks to their original story and pay tribute to the track builder and his wife (and we have a few). I’m not sure if we can do that but we will continue to keep trying to find common ground with the DCC, but until the tracks will remain nameless.”
So the council is still being pedantic despite all the fuss over an overreaction to two complaints.
Comments:
This story seems to have become a lighting rod for the frustration a lot of Dunedin feel with the council at the moment.
It’s unfortunate that MBO, who have been minding their own business and just doing their thing, have got caught inbetween an angry public and the DCC.
And:
What a f joke. DCC should be embarrassed, absolutely ridiculous.
And:
MBO has done nothing wrong AFAIK. Definitely PC gone wrong and an over the top reaction with hyped up media. I’ve spoken to many non-MTBers who fail to see the problem but we’ll move on.
And:
This is some staff plonkers, not the councilors, who I expect are embarrassed.
And:
maybe mtb otago should put blue dots on the tracks, reckon it’ll fix it?
Some websites seem to have had the names removed already, like Mountain Biking in Dunedin
But one problem with just renaming the bike tracks is that the old names live on.
Otago Boys High School (2018): Mountain Biking Update
From the top of Signal Hill this week the boys did shuttle runs to enjoy riding the downhill tracks, namely the Jump Track and Ginger Cougar.
And:
https://www.trailforks.com/trails/ginger-cougar/
Ray
/ 9th June 2020There are jobworthies and germophobes everywhere, our local library were ordered not to touch returned books till they were individually sanitized despite the Lancelet saying paper was safe after 3 days, they were also not allowed into the building at total lockdown to stop the computer generated overdue notices.
The same types banned groundsmen from mowing grass at the same time.
I honesty despair at what is happening to Dunedin under the present idiots, the traffic thanks to the seriously under used bike ways is clogged when ever I venture down and so it goes.
Alan Wilkinson
/ 9th June 2020The loony Left is everywhere but G doesn’t notice.
Gezza
/ 9th June 2020Don’t be daft, Al. The loony left is impossible to miss.
Alan Wilkinson
/ 9th June 2020Here are some more:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300027227/three-cell-tower-fires-in-south-auckland-overnight-being-investigated-by-police
Gezza
/ 9th June 2020Another man in the video could be heard saying “F… 5G” and “F… the New World Order” as they drive away from the scene.
That last one is a clue that they’re probably not lefties. They sound more like right wing fringe conspiracy nuts. Alex Jones Infowars territory.
Kitty Catkin
/ 9th June 2020The jobsworths at our council wouldn’t even let books be returned to the library and some jobsworth caught on to the fact that the Little Library book box which happens to be near the library was still in use and removed all the books (for those who don’t know, people put books in these and take others out) The council lawns weren’t mowed, of course. The dustmen must be considered to be expendable. they worked at all levels.
Our library insanely has shields and sign-ins although the staff move around and have contact with users. The barmiest has to be the outside door of the dunny being wedged open. WHY ???
duperez
/ 9th June 2020If no gender names is to be a thing in naming streets and two people complaining is sufficient to get action there’s scope for fun.
Arthur, Ethel, Frederick, Marion, George, Elizabeth, William Streets …? Imagine the fun to be had with getting up individual petitions (at least three signatures on each) and drip feeding them into the system. I’m sure I can find someone who’ll say they’re offended by each of those and dozens of others. 🙂
Alan Wilkinson
/ 9th June 2020I’m sure you can too, dups, assuming you have Lefty friends.
Kitty Catkin
/ 9th June 2020Oh, Dups, that could be a real hoot. Complain about every street name in the city.
There must also be some with double meanings to the dirty-minded.
Kitty Catkin
/ 9th June 2020Dear Council
I am offended by the name Arthur because of the saying ‘I don’t know if I’m Arthur or bloody Martha.’
I am offended by the name William because its abbreviation ‘Willy’ is a vulgarism for men’s genitals.
I am offended by the name Elizabeth because I am anti-royalist and unearned privilege and this name celebrates these, as does the name George.
I am offended by the name Marion because it’s the real name of John Wayne who glorified killing.
I will find reasons to be offended by the others and let you know what these are.
Pru Dish
Conspiratoor
/ 9th June 2020Just as it has overseas I can see this message will take time to work its way through some heads. This represents a paradigm shift in the traditional ways we travel and a challenge to the ‘car first’ mentality. Step back and ask yourself what all those drivers without passengers are doing that compels them to jump into a cage and drive it into a city.
Give it time, ever increasing gridlocks (with or without dots on the road) and perhaps some added persuasion by way of a toll on vehicles in the inner city, and those gridlocks will ease as folks begin to turn on to alternatives.
Kitty Catkin
/ 9th June 2020What does this have to do with inane name changes ?
Kitty Catkin
/ 9th June 2020The tracks could be called The Non-Gender-Specific Partner, The Large Ginger Cat and The Female Supervisor.