This was published 3 years ago
Dunedin reclaims title of world's steepest street after Guinness World Records' blunder
Dunedin's Baldwin St is back to steep street record holder after a battle with a Welsh village.Credit: HAMISH MCNEILLY/STUFF
Dunedin's Baldwin St has reclaimed the title of the world's steepest street.
Ffordd Pen Llech in Harlech, Wales took over the record in June last year. But Guinness World Records had to reverse its decision, saying its measuring method was wrong.
Guinness World Records said on its website the decision to reinstate was reached after an "extensive review" of an appeal, brought by representatives of Baldwin St.
Students from Melbourne, Australia, pose for a photograph on Baldwin St, which is still the world's steepest street.Credit: HAMISH MCNEILLY/STUFF
The appeal, led by Toby Stoff, included a comparative survey of the three-dimensional shapes of the Dunedin street and Ffordd Pen Llech.
The findings revealed that in order to fairly assess the different shape of the streets, whether they're straight or curved, steepness must be measured by the central axis (the centre line of the road).
The new results confirmed Baldwin St has the steeper gradient of 34.8 per cent, compared to Ffordd Pen Llech's gradient of 28.6 per cent.
Stoff, a Dunedin surveyor, measured both streets from the centre line, even taking a trip over to Wales.
"I feel good that we followed through. I do feel bad for Wales because they are cool, a lot of fun," he said.
"It started as a bit of outrage, Dunedin having a bit of a rant. But the more we drilled in to it, I thought they might have made a bit of a cock up.
"At least we did something for Dunedin, we'll defend our little wee quirks that make Dunedin special."
Craig Glenday, Editor-in-Chief at Guinness World Records, said he was grateful to the Baldwin St appeals team "for making us aware of a rare gap in our stipulations"
"We're pleased to see the title return to New Zealand," he said.
"We're also very grateful to the Ffordd Pen Llech team for their application and good humour throughout this process."
It has also been clarified within the guidelines that for the purposes of the record, a thoroughfare includes when a street connects to other roads, as these are also considered a destination.
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