Business backs mall extension

Opinion split over creating laneway or pedestrian space

Central Whangarei business owners are assessing the merits of plans to extend the Cameron St Mall.

The plans, an initiative of the Whangarei District Council, are seen by council planners as a way to breathe new life into the central business district.

Preliminary sketches released by the council show the Cameron St Mall extending as far as John St, and up James St as far as Robert St.

Featuring overhead canopies, activity zones and ‘‘street furniture’’, the extension could either be implemented as a full pedestrian mall or as a ‘‘laneway’’ with limited vehicle parking spaces.

The council has been displaying the plans since November and is now entering the final stages of its public consultation. A decision on whether to proceed with the plans will be made later this year.

Central city business owners were asked their opinion at meetings on Tuesday and Thursday, while the public were invited to a consultation meeting on Wednesday.

Council officers have been presenting the plans in the Cameron St Mall recently and have largely encountered a positive response, they say.

Most people spoken to by council officers are in favour of extending the mall although opinion is split over whether to create a laneway or a full pedestrian mall.

The laneway plan would cost $2.5 million whereas the pedestrian mall would cost $4 million.

Opinions about the mall plans were also split in the business community.

The Northern Advocate spoke to several Cameron St and James St business owners this week and encountered a range of perspectives.

Stephanie Moss, of United Travel, was part of the group lobbying the council to develop the central city.

Mrs Moss said she would prefer the full pedestrian option because ‘‘then you’ve got the possibility of holding events and creating that vibrancy in the city that we need to grow’’.

Across the road at Fresh Cafe, owner/operator Amy Moretto said if the plans allowed for more outside seating, she would be all for it.

‘‘I think the full pedestrian option is good but delivery access might affect some businesses.’’

Dickens Inn owner Graham Cundy said he was generally in support of the laneway concept but the council needed to fix the parking problem in the area and ensure businesses in the proposed mall had adequate delivery access.

Other business owners said the council should sort out the traffic and parking plan in the central city before it bothers with a mall extension.