Major retailers not going anywhere despite Kontelj claims
A CITY of Greater Geelong councillor claims major retailers might soon abandon the CBD because of changes to on-street parking and the construction of “over-engineered” bike lanes.
Brownbill Ward councillor Eddy Kontelj has raised concerns “poor decisions” being made in the city centre could scare off big businesses.
“I seriously fear major retailers such as Myer, Target and others will soon abandon our CBD,” Cr Kontelj said.
But spokesmen for both Myer and Target rejected the councillor’s claims, saying they had no plans to leave Geelong.
“It is business as usual for our Target Geelong store, and all stakeholders will be communicated with well in advance of any planned change to Target’s store network,” the Target spokesman said. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with the community.”
A Myer spokesman said: “It is business as usual at the Geelong store providing leading brands and service to our loyal customers.
“We have a proud history of serving the Geelong community and our commitment to the region and to our customers has not changed.”
Cr Kontelj said concerns had been raised with him by community members and small businesses, and claimed shoppers were already choosing to avoid the CBD for other shopping areas.
He said his concerns centred around charging for onstreet parking, the reduction of on-street parking, introduction of “unnecessarily premature over-engineered” bike lanes, restriction of vehicle access to the CBD, congestion of streets and removal of vehicle turning lanes.
“Forcing separated bike lanes into the CBD and our shopping strips, and also removing important on-street parking and vehicle turning lanes at any cost will not work in the medium-term,” Cr Kontelj said.
“I personally believe this approach will discourage people from visiting these traditional shopping precincts, opting for more convenient and shopper-friendly locations, and in turn having significant negative impacts on small business.”
The Brownbill Ward councillor ran for election in 2017 on a platform that included investment in cycling infrastructure and free parking in the CBD among other things.