City drainage work drives away clients
ROADWORKS on one of Townsville’s busiest roads have a pair of business owners seeing red as their profits tumble.
Ingham Rd has been disrupted in recent weeks, with Townsville City Council drainage works causing lane closures.
Most of the work in the past month, which is part of a $ 2 million infrastructure upgrade, has been out the front of AAA FNQ Battery Wholesalers and the recently established Easysleep Townsville.
The businesses have experienced a massive drop- off in customers, with the works limiting access and visibility.
AAA FNQ Battery Wholesalers owner Phillip Terranova said it was the third lengthy council works conducted out the front of his shop in the past year and he was bewildered as to why it wasn’t done in one go.
He said the council should compensate his business for lost trading, blaming the local government’s “poor scheduling” for a 30 to 40 per cent reduction in customers.
“They need to compensate us for our losses. Once is OK but to go through three lengthy works is just too much of a hit,” Mr Terranova said.
“The problem is the drivethrough traffic … we’re not getting people pulling in because of the works and they are just going somewhere else for their batteries.”
The Bulletin put questions to the council earlier this week and AAA FNQ Battery Wholesalers store manager Mark Wilson said council representatives were at the store the following day.
“They are telling us they are going to get signs made up and mount them on poles saying there is access to AAA FNQ Battery Wholesalers on the side streets,” he said. “They’ve said they will do the digging work at our driveway on Saturday afternoon and Sunday to limit the disruption.”
Easysleep director Darin Murray established his Townsville showroom just weeks before the works commenced.
He said he was told work would only take two weeks and it had already been going for more than double that time.
“I spent a fortune on advertising because I was under the impression it was going to be a quick in and out job,” he said. “It’s been over four weeks and it still looks like a bomb site.”
Acting Mayor Les Walker said the council was committed to upgrading essential infrastructure throughout Townsville.
“Our crews are working very hard on this job to get it done before the start of the wet season next month,” he said.
“It’s very important that council upgrade its drainage infrastructure to ensure water can move through the stormwater system freely in the event of a decent downpour.”
Councillor Colleen Doyle said despite “some minor disruption with a section of the road closed”, the overwhelming majority of local residents had been understanding.