Alfresco dining trial set for early evaluation
THE temporary alfresco dining “parklets’ that have divided the Ocean Grove business community will be evaluated just seven weeks into their 13-week trial.
The timing has further angered some Ocean Grove retailers who say Geelong council is trying to manipulate results of the trial by evaluating it before the end of the peak holiday season.
A council Facebook post promoting an aligned public feedback survey that is also underway claims the parklets have helped businesses expand trading during COVID-19, before asking, “Should we keep them or not?”
But retailers opposing the project say the narrowing of The Terrace has been a deterrent to their customers and has interfered with deliveries.
Ocean Grove Cellars owner Peter Fryar said the council’s trader survey scheduled to start on January 25 coincided with the last busy week of the year for local retailers and any results of the evaluation would be “unfairly skewed”.
He said while most businesses were busy in January, he was convinced customers “have deserted us because they can’t get into The Terrace”. Mr Fryar said the parklets had close to zero patronage in the evenings.
He was also concerned how the council would interpret responses from non-retail business in the strip.
The council has told traders the survey was timed so they did not feel any subsequent decisions were rushed and that there was ample time to consider all the themes and issues that might be raised.
Installed on a three-month trial on December 7, the parklets have added more than 50 outdoor dining seats to The Terrace, with council officers saying the activation will benefit the entire precinct, by helping it become a more appealing place to spend time.
Before Christmas, some traders said the project, which they say was rushed through, had fractured relationships between business owners in the strip.
Mr Fryar said those relationships were now “absolutely poisonous”.
“It’s absolutely shocking what has happened,” Mr Fryar said.
The installations support dining venues that had been facing indoor density caps under the state government’s COVID-19 restrictions.