Roadworks ‘wreaking havoc’ for Wellington businesses on key commuter road

Friday, 20 September 2024

A $46 million project on Wellington's Thorndon Quay is 'wreaking havoc' among local businesses, with the road said to be a nightmare to drive along.

Disruptions caused by roadworks are making life hard for businesses along a major Wellington road.

The $46 million Thorndon Quay project started late in 2023, and won’t finish until mid-2025.

One business owner said the works were ‘wreaking havoc’, while another said the number of days without any sales had skyrocketed.

Businesses along a key commuter route into central Wellington say they’re struggling under the pressure of major roadworks designed to make travel easier for buses and cyclists, and reduce carbon emissions from vehicles.

The $45.8 million road improvements to Thorndon Quay started in late 2023 and are expected to carry on into mid-2025. Costs are shared between Wellington City Council and the NZ Transport Agency.

Paul Robinson, chairperson of the Thorndon Quay Collective, said the works were “wreaking havoc” on businesses along Thorndon Quay.

The roadworks along Thorndon Quay earlier in September.

The council was also ignoring the state of the pipes underneath the road. “The risk is that we complete the project, then have to go back and dig it all up because the pipes need doing,” Robinson said.

“We also are really concerned that $50m is being used to solve a problem that was nearly non-existent.”

The Thorndon Quay issue comes as tensions rise amongst city councillors over Wellington’s liveability crisis, as the costs of fixing the capital’s ageing infrastructure worsen, and rates dramatically increase.

In 2012 the council had spoken to businesses along the route about cycle safety concerns. “That was a really good process. It was engagement and consultation in the real sense of the word.”

As a result of those discussions, a morning peak clearway on the city-bound side of the road was created which saw a 50% drop in crashes, Robinson said.

Paul Robinson, shown here in a picture taken in May, was warning of pipe issues even before the roadworks started.

In contrast, one Thorndon Quay business complained of pedestrian traffic being down 50%, and another had laid off six staff since the current roadworks were under way.

The Woolstore building, which used to house various office and wholesale-type businesses, had become vacant, a far cry from the previous 20 years where it had always been tenanted.

Another view of the roadworks earlier in September.

Tim Chai, from the Bedpost store on Thorndon Quay, said the worst of the roadworks had now passed his store, but the “sea of cones” remained.

“When you drive down Thorndon Quay it’s a nightmare because you can’t see the lines on the road,” he said.

Fencing in front of buildings along Thorndon Quay in March

“It’s a real shambles.”

The impact of the work was at its peak at the start of the year when Bedpost was completely fenced off from the public, Chai said.

A water pipe bursts under this car parked on Thorndon Quay in December.

Since the road works began, Bedpost recorded a drop in sales of 30% compared to last year. This year, the company recorded 59 days where no sales were made, up 54 days on last year.

Chai said the drop was due to the road works and lack of parks.

He acknowledged general economic conditions and public sector redundancies could also be contributing to a slow down in business.

Fences and cones on Thorndon Quay in July.

The store will also be grappling with car parks after the works are complete, losing six out of the 10.

Despite the difficulties now, Chai was optimistic Thorndon Quay would remain a destination precinct once the works were finished. “Once there’s not a cone down Thorndon Quay, I guarantee it will be buzzing again.”

Last week the council considered a 1937-signature petition from Thorndon Quay Collective’s Robinson asking for the roadworks to be halted so an independent project review could be undertaken. The council voted 13-5 to carry on with the project.

A report to the council said It was estimated that stopping the project for a review, redesigning it to include water renewals, doing work on the pipes and then completing the roadworks could result in a delay of at least a year and $10m more in costs.

Each weekday about 10,000 people travelled along Thorndon Quay by bus, and about 1300 people biked along it. The number of cyclists was projected to grow to 4000 a day by 2036.

“With the expected growth in the uptake of cycling, walking and public transport over the next 20 years, improvements are needed along the Thorndon Quay commuter corridor,” the report said.

Robinson’s petition said pedestrian foot counts along Thorndon Quay were down by up to 80%. The report to the council said officers had been unable to verify that figure.

The council report also noted that parking occupancy in the city was about 50% to 53%, and had not returned to pre-Covid levels.

Analysis from Marketview, which accounted for 70% of Eftpos terminals, noted that on average, spending in businesses along Thorndon Quay was largely in line with the benchmarked CBD spend, the council report said.

Marketview analysis showed the downturn along Thorndon Quay from January to May 2024 was not out of step with the rest of the city during the same period.

“Therefore, it cannot be solely attributed to construction disruption.”