Businesses suffer as works continue

 

JULIA WADE

After just one month, Mangawhai Village traffic has changed gear from a cruisy ride to a slow crawl as work continues on one of the area’s most ambitious roading initiatives, and shoppers steering away from lengthy traffic delays is leaving some traders with a case of financial whiplash.

As locals navigate around the foundation ‘phase one’ works of the Shared Path project which kicked off in July, Village business owners have felt the economic impact of vacant shops and cafes as potential customers choose to avoid the frustration of the one-way traffic light system, with wait times ranging from a few seconds to a claimed 20 minutes.
 

Drop in trade
With the exception of a handful of traders, the majority of Village retailers contacted by the Focus reported a large drop in shoppers stepping through their doors in July, resulting in a very quiet, and perturbing, trading month.

Sadly, some worried owners like Frog & Kiwi cafe and restaurant owner, David Bonometti, have been so badly affected by the loss of customers, they are even contemplating shutting their doors.

“We can’t go on for much longer,” he says while standing in his empty cafe which normally would be alive with the conversation of patrons. “Our intake has dropped more than 50 per cent... if we close it will be for good.”

GAS Mangawhai’s manager says ‘everybody is taking a hit’, and his eight staff have already had their hours cut due to low customer numbers, as entering and exiting from the petrol pump has proved too difficult and time-consuming for some drivers.

 

Long wait for traffic
Down the road at Bennetts Cafe, people unwilling to face the dreaded traffic queues even for their morning caffeine hit, have left many vacant chairs in the popular eatery.

New owner at Kakariki Health & Wellbeing, Anneke White, says the store, which she recently bought with husband Craig in May, is definitely quieter with July’s intake totalling only half of the previous month, ‘although our new food products have still sold well’.

“One customer told me she had been waiting 17 minutes to get into the Bennetts car park. We’ve been wondering if the timing of the lights was changed to allow a few cars through at a time instead of people having to wait for a long time in the

queues, it would work better,” she says. ”I’m hoping for beautiful sunny days so people perhaps will more likely park outside the Village and walk in.”

A spokesperson for the Super Liquor store says that due to the traffic delays their ‘thirsty Thursdays’ have become like more like their quiet Sundays.

“Noticed a huge difference… our busy time from three in the afternoon till 7.30 in the evening has gone way down and shoppers are also bulk buying instead… I think the timing of the lights seems to be the main issue, with people waiting up to 20 minutes in the queues.”

 

Some big losers
Although road workers have become regular visitors to the local eateries, their patronage does not quite meet the shortfall of the shop’s usual regulars, with AJ’s Bakery & Cafe noticing a lull in their busy daily routine. Owner of The Cakery, Louisa Lee, says she has lost all her usual morning trade.

“On Fridays, which is my busiest day, I normally have 20-30 customers – last Friday I only had four by 10am. I’m having to invent new ways of getting customers in so I’ve changed the menu and lunch trade has picked up a little,” she says. “My main point is customers being able to make a right turn out of our car park onto Molesworth Drive more easily.”

Lee says local support has improved a bit just recently as people become more aware of the impact on Village businesses.

“The pressure is huge, I have a young family to support and I’m seriously considering I might have to sell.”

 

Support for outcome
Although concerned and frustrated about the current situation, most retailers were also philosophical about the road works and supported the long-term outcome.

Mark Forsyth of Village Wines & Spirits agrees with Lee, his retail neighbour, in regards to customers needing ‘a clear way out of here’, however, in respect to the wine shop’s slow trade, says it was hard to know whether to blame the season or the roading works.

“Haven’t really noticed a turndown as winter is quiet anyway… this was our third July in business and it was the best we’ve had,” he says. “The level of adversity that businesses are facing is the dilemma… however I’ve found communicating with council and finding information about the works has been really good, better than Auckland Council. It will be great to have more sensible roading for the Village. I guess that old adage stands… ‘you can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs’.”

‘Monty’ from the Village’s Four Square agrees. Even though he has noticed a definite decrease in customer numbers he says there is nothing they can do until the works end and ‘the end result will be good for the community’.

Bammas owner Dave Glover has been watching the traffic in the Village for 13 years and says ‘it had to change’.

“I went to the meetings about the road works and was fully aware of the impact it would have. The guy from United Civil drops in regularly and I understand they are doing all they can, that they have to do all the works at one time while they have the crew here. Once the laying of the services is finished, things will be easier,” he says. “I’m also very thankful for the community’s support, that some people are still making the effort to come down and shop at the Village.”

 

“Our intake has dropped more than 50 per cent... if we close it will be for good.”

- David Bonometti, Frog & Kiwi
 

 

Frog & Kiwi’s David Bonometti and The Cakery’s Louisa Lee, owners of cafes on both sides of Molesworth Drive, say their trade has taken a huge hit with the current traffic situation in the Village and ensuing loss of customers, and are contemplating shutting up shop. ‘The pressure is huge’ Lee says. PHOTO/JULIA WADE

 

Traffic pic: With multiple avenues of traffic to manage, including vehicles entering and exiting the petrol station and shopping areas, traffic management have their work cut out to balance an even flow for the queued vehicles. PHOTO/JULIA WADE
 

READ MORE: Green light to accelerate intersection improvement works in Mangawhai Village

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