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Napier Street business owners are concerned upgrades to the Bendigo thoroughfare will not leave room for customer parking, even though VicRoads workers say no decisions have been made about the road’s design.
A section of the arterial road between Lake Weeroona and Hall Street is earmarked for overhaul after a $30 million promise in the state government's May budget.
The upgrade will aim to alleviate traffic congestion on the popular thoroughfare.
But a meeting of local businesses and VicRoads representatives at The Loaded Plate cafe on Monday night left bakery owner Karen Richardson concerned.
The Napier Street businesswoman said the project would remove on-street parking without which she would struggle to attract customers.
"They're going to kill all of the small businesses when they do the road," she said.
She said many of her clients were tradespeople travelling in trucks or towing trailers and removing street parking would make it difficult for them to access her bakery.
Customers who could not find parks would take their business to nearby supermarkets where parking bays were plentiful, Ms Richardson said, explaining the proposed upgrade was the biggest threat her 38-year-old business had faced.
Asked about a strip of off-street parking in front of her shop, Ms Richardson said deterred people from because of trouble exiting into traffic.
She also said vacant land behind was an inconvenient alternative to time-poor customers.
While VicRoads regional director Mal Kersting acknowledged plans for the Napier Street upgrade were still under development, he said his organisation had undertaken a survey of parking and he did not expect significant changes to the current situation.
Three community consultation sessions had presented those living and working in the affected area with two potential designs, both of which featured nature strips that – despite not being marked as parking – would also include places for shoppers to leave their vehicles, Mr Kersting said.
White Hills Takeaway manager Raelene Baker was also concerned about what the project would mean for her business, but conceded the upgraded was needed to improve driver safety.
In the seven years since she began operating the food outlet, Ms Baker had seen a handful of serious car accidents on Napier street as drivers tried to evade traffic congestion.
An online community consultation about initial concepts for the road upgrade will continue until August.
White Hills Takeaway manager Raelene Baker was also concerned about what the project would mean for her business, but conceded the upgraded was needed to improve driver safety.
In the seven years since she began operating the food outlet, Ms Baker had seen a handful of serious car accidents on Napier street as drivers tried to evade traffic congestion.
Still, she was worried the removal of street parking would affect her customers and suppliers.
"A lot of my trade depends on people pulling up outside," she said.
If we can't have people doing that, what happens then?"
But Ms Baker said road authorities were attuned to her concerns, and she only wished parking options had been considered before the community consultation process began.
The upgrades also troubled White Hills resident Jenny, who lived in a side street off the stretch of road earmarked for change.
The local woman said her street was often congested with parked cars, leaving little room for her children to leave their vehicles.
Cars had even parked across her driveway and passing traffic made it difficult to leave her own property, she said.
"I've missed doctor's appointments, or been late to pick up my kids from the station," she said.
Mr Kersting encouraged the community to share their concerns via an community online consultation hub that will remain open until August.
A call for feedback in late 2015 prompted about 900 Bendigonians to submit responses to VicRoads, while 200 people had viewed early design concepts at information evenings last month.
Riding into the future
Upgrades to Napier Street could see more commuters choose to leave their cars at home.
A VicRoads spokesman said on Friday his organisation had met with Bendigo’s cycling fraternity about how Napier Street could become more bike-friendly and lanes dedicated to the pedal-powered transport mode had been incorporated into each of the design options presented at community consultations.
He said problems with congestion and a fear of collisions deterred users from cycling or catching public transport along the route, worsening traffic problems.
The provision for buses and bikes also satisfied VicRoads’ obligations to the Transport Integration Act, which demanded different modes of transport be made possible, and matched the municipality’s Connecting Greater Bendigo strategy to modernise the town’s infrastructure.
But Napier Street business owners on Thursday were skeptical about the need for cycling lanes, saying bike traffic in the area was low.