Dublin St road closure takes a toll on Picton businesses

Saturday, 20 July 2024

Ferry traffic is being diverted past central Picton leaving shopkeepers out of pocket.

Picton business owners say they are losing lots of customers as roadworks cause lucrative ferry traffic to bypass the main town centre.

Dublin St, an important thoroughfare from the ferry terminals to the town centre, was closed early last year for roadworks as part of KiwiRail’s Inter-island Resilient Connection (iRex) programme, which was canned in December.

KiwiRail, the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA), and the Marlborough District Council are now working to reinstate a level crossing at the eastern end of Dublin St, and install stormwater and drainage infrastructure.

Barbara Speedy, a gallery director in the Picton Business Group, said the road was a key connector between the town and vehicles coming off the ferries.

“In the past they would have seen the sign that said ‘town centre turn left’, come get a coffee, have a shop, and Picton people would have really looked after them,” she said.

“Now when they come off the ferry and see that Dublin St is closed, they then go down Kent St which connects onto SH1; by that point people would have thought ‘I’m just going to keep going south’.

“Businesses are telling me it is hard; it's been hard because of the length of time that road is closed.”

Barbara Speedy, part of the Picton Business Group, says local businesses are losing customers due to the closure of Dublin St.

Speedy estimated that during the winter, about 15% of the customers shopping in Picton were using the ferries.

KiwiRail said in a statement in May it aimed to have Dublin St open by the end of August.

The timing relied on the “availability of specialist equipment”, which had Speedy worried.

“We’re thinking, ‘are they already offering up an excuse?’ However on the other hand, they found the equipment and time to demolish the old ferry terminal,” she said.

Broadway St, parallel to Dublin St, was also closed, so drivers leaving the ferry terminal had to drive south to the Nelson Square roundabout before heading back north into the town centre.

Hamish Watson, owner of FreshChoice Picton, says business has been lost after the closure of Dublin St.

Hamish Watson, owner of FreshChoice Picton, said the reduction of customers since Dublin St’s closure had been noticeable.

“All of these incremental issues we are having with roading and construction, making it hard for people to get into our central township, does create issues,” he said.

“We have a very high level of domestic tourists, and these tourists are going by every day, on and off ferries, and they are being restricted and diverted [from] coming into our township.”

Jane Briggs, owner of Evolve Boutique on Picton's High St, says Picton businesses rely on ferry traffic.

Jane Briggs, owner of Evolve Boutique, said winter was usually quiet for her business, but they did rely on ferry traffic.

“The closure has definitely affected things,” she said.

“If it opens in August that would be great.”

The Marlborough Express spoke to other business owners who voiced the same concerns.

In response to questions about the future of the planned Dublin St overbridge, an NZTA spokesperson said that the agency was still investigating “the most appropriate options for improvements and changes to the transport network around the port”.