Thing is though the anti-pedestrians care not a dot. My favourite local example is the one tiny bit of the Hastings CBD that has been cut off from cars between Market St & Russell St:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/39°38’29.2"S+176°50’33.9"E/@-39.641439,176.8420221,439m/
Its been closed to cars for ages; but even though there’s apparently not been any accidents from the way the rail travels through that park because the track is not blocked off it needs redevelopment to add a fence protecting people from trains.
And as soon as that was mooted some of the retailers in that one little block, despite being surrounded by parking every other side but that 75m stretch of Heretaunga St, started campaigning to allow cars back down it again. Because apparently having full blown parking lots 50m away from them its the lack of cars outside their door that’s impacted their trading (not global trading down turns, cost of living crises and covid pandemics).
If anything the parking behind the retail sections of Hastings is way better than the street parking anyway, there’s more spaces for differently abled people, and its way easier to get in & out of the masses of actual parking lots. If you travel further east along Heretaunga St there’s a section from Russell St to Hastings St that could also easily be pedestrianised too.
Its got loads of hospitality outlets, a fair bit of retail and crucially - is surrounded with car parking. Particularly in summer in the height of the fun seasons it would be a wonderful place to allow more al fresco dining and entertaining and events* but the naysayers will never let it happen.
*They run a few night festivals through summer with temporary road closures and they are very well attended.
I was thinking that - if it was a maul, it would have been. So why when its the only defender 5m out from a quick tap would it not also be?
(I dont think either should be penalty try + yellow - one or the other is sufficient punishment for mine).
Was a hell of a game though eh - good atmosphere, relatively evenly matched teams. I heard someone saying it was around a b/c level Scottish team with so many of the A-listers with the Lions; but it would be a struggle to call the Maori ABs even a C level NZ team at the moment. There’s a handful of starting SR players, 0 ABs squad members* and the reserve halfback wasn’t even in a SR squad this year.
In fact of the entire team the only SR starters I can think of were the two locks, TK Howden, Rivez Reihana and Bailyn Sullivan who was shunted out to right-wing as soon as Proctor came back from injury.
*Walker-Leawere was called in as injury cover for a week last year & TK Howden is close to knocking on the door.