Street shut, shops open
AS A group of Russell St business operators chatted yesterday, four words kept emerging – no pain, no gain.
Owners and operators of premises along Russell St are preparing for the closure of a short part of the street to traffic for a sixmonth period from Monday.
The traffic closure, from the Victoria St intersection to the rail line, is occurring to allow construction on the outer circulating road to ramp up.
Business owners on and around the street are pushing a “Russell St precinct – open for business” campaign in an effort to keep customers shopping over the six month period.
Mike Williams Country Clothing co-owner Jo Williams said she was feeling positive about the process, despite some initial apprehension on hearing the announcement last week.
“It was like, ‘oh my God, what’s going to happen?’ But I’ve got around it, and I really don’t think that it’s going to be huge,” Mrs Williams said.
“Most customers are loyal; they’ll stick with us. They know that we’ll be going through a tough period so they’ll say we can make an effort, and make our way there.”
Twelve precinct business owners are part of the OCR Stakeholder Working Group which will be running events throughout the traffic shut-down period to keep pedestrian traffic in the area.
Betros Bros owner operator Bevan Betros said the benefits of the project made the short-term closure worthwhile.
“I’ve been in favour of the shutdown – get in, get it done.
“It’s got to be done, otherwise we’ll still be here this time next year, with delays and stuff.
“I’m a bit worried about the traffic it’s going to put on to the other streets, but people will soon learn how to get around and get to the businesses.
“It’s the best time to do it, through the winter, and it’ll be done in time for Carnival, all things going well.”