DRIVEN INTO A DEAD- END Traders fear being shut out by road upgrade
RASMUSSEN traders fear the long- awaited duplication of Riverway Drive may put them out of business.
The shop owners are in a complex that will fall directly in line with the Riverway Drive Duplication Project, which began last month.
The works, undertaken by the Department of Transport and Main Roads, will duplicate the single- lane section between Gollogly Lane and Allambie Lane for about 3km.
In coming weeks, a concrete barricade will be built outside the Allambie Lane shops, reducing the number of access points at the complex from six to two.
Choc- A- Bloc Pizza owner Christian Price, who has trad- ed at the complex for three years, said he had received no communication about the obstruction and he feared he would lose his business.
“That’s how I lost my other business in Douglas, because people won’t turn around and come back,” he said. “They do things and don’t even talk to me about it, or what they are going to do.”
Riverway Meats owner Mick Veitch, who opened his store two months ago, was hopeful he could secure a loyal customer base before the works began.
“There will be a barricade that will make it harder for people to stop in on their way home,” Mr Veitch said. “People have to eat and I’m hoping that by the time it starts, they would have chosen me for their butcher.”
Cignall Tobacconist owner Gavin Hume said 40 per cent of his business came in the afternoons.
“Whatever they’ve done, they’ve done. But no one has consulted with us,” he said.
“Our business relies on the ease of access for workbound and home- bound traffic – quick in- and- out shopping.”
However, the Department of Transport and Main Roads says it has consulted with businesses affected by the project, which is designed to reduce congestion and improve road safety.
In a statement, TMR said it had a long history of engaging with property owners and businesses on the project and feedback had been factored into the design.
“Throughout the engagement process TMR has listened to customers, including feedback that safety at the Allambie Lane shopping complex needs to be improved, to reduce the number of accidents which have occurred in the past,” the statement read.
“By duplicating this busy arterial, we are catering for the current and expected future growth of the Upper Ross area.”
Mr Hume said he had sent an email to TMR on behalf of the complex’s businesses and arranged a meeting for further discussion this morning at his business.