Maunganui Rd shop owners are frustrated that council-contracted roadworks have turned their street into a one-way thoroughfare – and one businessowner believes she is owed compensation for the financial hurt the work has caused.

Currently the Maunganui Rd stores affected only get traffic heading south from the Mount, with no right-turn available, and there is no parking.

Busy Bee Dairy owner Ekta Jamwal says her Maunganui Rd shop has experienced a massive drop in revenue since the roadworks started. 'My overall sales have dropped 85 per cent from what they were before the roadworks.”

And Ekta believes the roadworks have gone on longer than Tauranga City Council initially indicated. 'The contractors were supposed to finish their work in front of my shop after three weeks but that was extended to five weeks.

'I've had to put all my suppliers' accounts on hold because I cannot make the payments to them. I'm sitting with stock and there's been no help from the council.”

Notification of the roadworks was given to Ekta in the last week of September. 'Only the [contractor] Fulton Hogan guys have communicated with me but the dates for completion keep changing – they're never on time.”

Frustrated

Ekta believes her Busy Bee Dairy is one of the most affected shops, but says it has hurt other shops along this stretch of road. 'The guy next door, the owner of the fish and chip shop, he's taken a month-long holiday.”

Ekta, who has put everything into her dairy, is frustrated. 'I've invested all my savings into this shop and when we had a meeting with the council people and Fulton Hogan and I requested that they give us compensation for what has happened, they said they are not liable to give us any compensation.

'I had to cry in front of them to get them to open my side of the road.”

Vikram Chhabra – owner of Park Mini Mart opposite McDonald's on Maunganui Rd – has also struggled with the roadworks.

'We were consulted last year August/September and were told by council that they would make a median and such, and there would be no disruption and that the roadworks would be finished in the month of October.

'They've been delayed by so many months, and we've had numerous consultations as well as having sent many emails regarding this. The plans which unfolded have been very disruptive to our businesses by taking off the right-turn into our street and removing our parking area.”

Essential work

TCC director of transport Brendan Bisley says improvements to roads are essential to ensure council maintain a safe and efficient road network for the benefit of all users.

'Typically, these works only happen once in a 20-to-30-year window, however we recognise that the period during construction can be difficult for those directly affected by the works and always do our best to work with business owners and nearby residents to minimise these effects.

'In the case of Maunganui Rd, business owners were provided with opportunities to input into how work was structured and how traffic was managed – with the aim of maximising access to businesses and parking.

'The start of the work was postponed as a result of this feedback and more recently, the schedule and construction method were adapted which is delivering faster progress.”

In regard to compensation, Brendan says TCC follow criteria in the Public Works Act 1981 to ensure council's approach is consistent and fair to all business owners across the city.

'In this case we will not be compensating business owners as the work being carried out is considered reasonable according to the criteria set out in the PWA.”

'We're committed to completing the works on Maunganui Rd as soon as we can to make way for the busy summer season.”

Vikram is deeply concerned about the financial state of stores on Mount Maunganui Rd. 'Our business overall has dropped by nearly 60 per cent.”