While the rest of the world has been dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, at least a few Australians found time to challenge Wales over losing the title of having the steepest street in the world. They won their challenge, forcing the Guinness World Records folks to change their measuring method.
Baldwin Street, in Dunedin, near Melbourne has now officially regained the crown it held for many years until last June, when the unofficial official recordkeeper awarded the title to Flordd Pen Llech in Harlech, Wales.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, “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).”
When all was said and done, the new official figures for gradient were posted, with Baldwin Street at 34.8% to Ffordd Pen Llech’s 28.6%. Stoff, a surveyor, measured both streets himself before submitting the dispute to Guinness. He told the Herald that “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.”
