Retailers slam Queenstown’s ‘shovel-ready’ street upgrades project
Queenstown’s council’s under pressure over disruption and apparent delays in delivering the $60 million CBD street upgrades project.
Two years after ground was broken on the Lower Beach Street section, it’s still not completely finished.
Rees St and some of Beach St looks like a bomb site, and one clothing retailer says all his stock’s got dust over it which he can’t remove — he’s sent a ‘stock spoilage’ bill to the council.
Chris Manuel, the manager of Lower Beach St’s Absoloot Hostel, says ‘‘it’s been absolute hell’’.
‘‘It’s been worse than Covid, a lot of it.’’
Just recently, water to Lower Beach St apartments was shut off for several nights after a water main apparently burst.
Manager Carolyn Hill, who’d advised water would be off for a night, says ‘‘people who had paid extremely good money for a holiday could only wash in dirty water’’.
‘‘People found coming to Queenstown was a very second-rate experience.’’
Council property and infrastructure manager Peter Hansby says though a section of Beach St’s taken longer than anticipated due to the amount of Three Waters upgrading required, the overall project’s ‘‘actually ahead of schedule’’, and should be completed by March.
A common complaint is the project should have been staged, but he suggests businesses themselves had wanted the project done as quickly as possible.
A staged approach would have taken longer, Hansby says.
He admits, however, there was little scope for consultation with businesses at the start.
‘‘This was a shovel-ready project, so in order to receive government funding, which was significant [$35m], we had to start at speed.’’
CBD project labelled “a total disaster”
Trond Johansson, who’s just shifted his jewellery store into The Mall after renting temporary digs in Lower Beach St, says ‘‘I don’t think anyone was consulted about what was going to happen down town’’.
Parts would be dug up, he says, then left for weeks ‘‘because they didn’t have enough people’’.
There’d be times he’d have to help customers into his store as the ground was so unstable.
‘‘There were times I just closed the shop and went for a walk because of that digging, it just drives you f…ing mad.’’
His business occupied space formerly rented by children’s clothing retailer Shirley Popenhagen, who got out just before Covid.
She feels for affected businesses ‘‘extremely’’, but as a resident of over 30 years is also ‘‘appalled a project of 200 metres long can take so long’’.
‘‘It’s appalling the town should look like it is for so long.
‘‘Who’s managing this project, what are they up to?
‘‘It seems like a total disaster.’’
Long-time Lower Beach St gallery owner Julia Milley also says the street works have been ‘‘incredibly disruptive’’, and is surprised so many retailers in her street are still in business.
‘‘I guess they did the best they could, but when you see them out there for a few days and then no one, ’cos they moved round the corner, it’s like, ‘why don’t you finish one spot?’
‘‘It’s hopefully going to look good when it’s finished, but those stupid [light] poles out there, my god, what were they thinking?’’
Absoloot Hostel owner Shaun Kelly says his business, especially being 24/7, bore the brunt of the street works for a year-and-a-half.
He’d have preferred the work was staged, so ‘‘the pain’’ would have been moved on through the CBD over shorter time periods — but whether that’d have been better, ‘‘we’ll never truly know’’.
He recalls being told Lower Beach was due to be finished by Christmas last year, with street furniture in by this March.
‘‘A lot of the impacts we felt weren’t completely conveyed to us, or it was suggested they’d be a lot less.
‘‘Like, we were told water shut downs would be kept to a minimum, or we would almost have none, but we’ve probably endured at least 10 to a dozen.’’
Wilkinsons Pharmacy co-owner Tim Judkins, who’s also critical of the lack of pre-consultation with businesses, believed the upgrade project would be underpinned by a carpark building on the CBD periphery, which is now not going ahead.
He’s pinning hopes on small ‘layover’ spaces in Rees St — ‘‘we’ve been through so much over Covid, and I can’t afford for people to be driving past my pharmacy because they can’t [park]’’.
“We’ve done our best”
Council infrastructure boss Peter Hansby says: ‘‘Given the impacts of Covid, supply chain challenges … I think we’ve done our best to deliver a good project for Queenstown, and while it’s been painful in the delivery phase, hopefully people will enjoy the finished product.’’
Not only is the project ahead of the programme, he suggests it’s also on budget, though he says there’s a challenge in Brecon Street working around a Wellingtonia tree.
Hansby says council was keen to have had more street works done at night, but hadn’t previously due to the impact on nearby hotels/
accommodation providers and commercial activities.
‘‘Whereas with Rees St we got agreement from the shop owners and the likes of Eichardt’s [hotel] so we’re able to do night works.’’
Though there’d been limited time to consult with businesses beforehand, he says they’ve closely consulted with them throughout the project — ‘‘I don’t think we could have done any more’’.
He also says they’ve tried to mitigate dust as much as possible.
There’s been delays with sections of Beach St due to ‘‘quite significant’’ and ‘‘quite challenging’’ underground work, and also a delay in the supply of some street furniture, however he notes pedestrian access has already been open for quite some time.
Vehicles would also be allowed, in a ‘shared space’ arrangement with pedestrians, but Beach St wouldn’t be opened till Rees St works had been finished.
Though there’d been criticism of the lighting poles, due to their overbearing nature and golden colour, Hansby says they were part of the design guidelines signed off by council.
‘‘Some hate them, some love them, I’ve had both comments back, I’m not a landscape architect so I’ll [not comment].’’
