Pedestrian mall plan upsets retailers
‘We feel like collateral damage for bigger picture'
One town, two viewpoints. Should the Taupo¯ District Council create a pedestrian mall on part of Lake Tce? The council held an ad hoc committee meeting on Tuesday as it pushes ahead with consultation on the next stage in the revitalisation of Taupo¯ town centre.
The proposal to create a pedestrian mall in the vicinity of Roberts St and Lake Tce goes hand in hand with closing the northern end of Lake Tce.
The public had their opportunity to present submissions, with many different groups represented. Most were in agreement with the concept of making the town more pedestrian friendly and making better connections between the town, lake, and Boat Harbour.
But the rub is in the mechanics of how to achieve this, with the suggested closure of the northern end of Lake Tce a core issue.
Lilja Tinworth, Stevie Manunui, and Emily Jones, on behalf of Kids Greening Taupo¯, supported the Roberts St pedestrian mall proposal as it aligned with the vision to promote nature and biodiversity. They also liked the idea of removing vehicles from the Taupo¯ CBD.
Taupo¯ resident and keen cyclist Paul Taylor said towns that were carfree are a joy to be in due to the absence of the noise and air pollution from vehicles. “Towns in Europe are
vibrant and safer, there are hundreds of places to park your bike.”
He said there would never be enough parking, however if the town was cycle-friendly then that would free up more parking spaces for cars.
But Dixie Brown’s owner Michael Opperman was against losing some 60 car parks in Roberts St and is also against the proposal to redirect Tongariro St traffic onto Roberts St, making Roberts St between Ruapehu St and Tongariro St one way.
“The traffic on Friday night is already backed up. People are not going to walk a few minutes in this climate, especially if it’s raining.”
These sentiments were repeated by Indian Delights restaurant owner Bijendra Singh who saw what happened when the northern section of
Lake Tce was closed for several months in 2019 to repair a wastewater spill. He says it’s essential customers can park close to where they are going to eat.
“We had 100 customers book in and tell us they planned to come to us, but there was no parking so they didn’t come,” said Bijendra.
“We lost 40 to 60 per cent of our business when the pipes burst.”
Increased parking on Ferry Rd is proposed, however Bijendra told the committee it was his opinion customers would not be prepared to walk 10 minutes to get to a restaurant, “when it is freezing cold out there”.
Several owners of the Le Rew building on Heuheu St expressed concern about pedestrianising the town centre.
“I am concerned about the unintended consequences. There is the intention of a thriving retail core, but there is a lack of research on who will use a mall and when,” said Russell Jones.
Speaking from the viewpoint of 60 years as a retailer in Taupo¯, Glynn Pointon said 70 per cent of retail spend is from out-of-towners.
“These people come by vehicle,” said Glynn.
Merino Downunder spokeswoman Rachel Shepherd said improvements to slow down Tongariro St traffic would be welcome, but was against closing the northern end of Lake Tce.
“Tongariro St retailers feel like collateral damage for the bigger picture. It’s a bitter pill to swallow for tenants
who have been there a long time.”
The second proposed pedestrian mall is located on Horomatangi St, across the road from Taupo¯ Primary School.
The pedestrian mall at the Titiraupenga end of the street will separate Horomatangi St into two separate roads. Speaking on behalf of the school’s board of trustees, chairwoman Catriona Eagles said the school supported the proposed Horomatangi St mall.
The council will release decisions on the proposed pedestrian mall next week.