
Photo: Oyvind1979

Photo: Luke Chapman
Not everyone likes walking up the street, though. Resident Sue Marshall said she’s been to the top only once, and her husband hasn’t even attempted the climb yet. But even driving up the slope can be quite a challenge. When artist Daniel Mead painted a mural at the top of the street in 2013, he said the hardest part was driving up the hill. “It may have been a better idea to walk as I think it ruined my car,” he said.
Photo: Gouldy99
Interestingly, Baldwin street’s current state is a result of poor planning. The planners were from London, and had no knowledge of Dunedin’s topography. They planned out the streets in a grid pattern, with taking the terrain into consideration. But when actual construction began, they realised there there were dangerously steep hills where the streets were supposed to be laid.
Photo: David Grant
Instead of returning to the drawing board, the planners decided to lumber on with their original design. They didn’t even incorporate switchbacks to tame the slope – they just kept on building roads. And where the slopes proved too steep, they simply didn’t lay any. The bizarre project resulted in Baldwin street – the steepest one of all. Other streets, running parallel to Baldwin, are quite steep as well. Arnold Street at 1:3.6, Dalmeny Street at 1:3.7, and Calder Avenue at 1:5.4.
Photo: Daniel Pletzch
The bungled up plan is largely forgotten today, and Dunedin residents take pride in Baldwin’s fame. They organise an annual festival on the street, to raise money for charity. Athletes run up and down the street, and the best race record so far stands at 1 minute and 56 seconds. There’s also the Cadbury Jaffa Race, in which residents sponsor 25,000 ‘Jaffa’, a spherical chocolate-coated confectionery, to be released down the slope. Each candy is numbered, and the winner is awarded free candy.Sources: CNN, Amusing Planet, Twisted Sifter