A street in Tauranga’s CBD returning to two-way traffic will be “good for business,” a cafe owner says.

In March, the lower end of Harington St became one-way because of nearby construction and, the city council said, to increase safety and streamline traffic.

There were also changes to other roads in the CBD as part of a two-year trial while construction of the $306 million civic precinct Te Manawataki o Te Papa and other private developments were ongoing.

Tauranga City Council will change Harington St’s layout in the new year, in response to a petition calling for it to return to two-way traffic.

Mohammad Rahman bought Cafe on The Strand 18 months ago and told Local Democracy Reporting his sales were down 20% to 30% since the road changes.

His cafe is on the corner of Harington St and The Strand.

Rahman said customers complained about the lack of parking and the cost of it.

Cafe on The Strand in Tauranga's CBD has had a downturn in sales since Harington St became a one-way street in March, says owner Mohammad Rahman. Photo / Alisha Evans

The street returning to two-way traffic would make it easier for customers, he said.

“It will be good for business too.”

He hoped the road layout changes would lead to increased sales.

Downtown Tauranga manager Genevieve Whitson said the Mainstreet organisation supported the council’s decision.

“It’s clear based on feedback from a number of businesses on Harington St that foot traffic and revenue have been negatively impacted by the one-way system.

“It’s great to see that council were able to listen to the concerns of the businesses and act accordingly.”

Liquorland owner Lisa Parker told the council the street changes have reduced her sales by a third. Photo / David Hall

Lisa Parker, who owns the Liquorland on Harington St, presented the petition to the council at a meeting in November.

Parker told the meeting that sales at her store had dropped by more than a third since the road became one-way.

“The business is no longer viable yet I have two years left on my lease with the added costs of rates, insurance, et cetera for the building.”

The decline in sales was directly linked to the street becoming one-way, Parker said.

If the street was to return to two-way it would mean a lot to her customers, enable her to remain open and her staff could keep their jobs, she said.

Liquorland was one of the businesses impacted by the changes to Harington St. Photo / David Hall

The council decided to return Harington St to two-way at a meeting on December 10.

Council city centre infrastructure lead Shawn Geard said the council had received a significant amount of feedback from the community since the road changes were made and after it received Parker’s petition.

The council did letter drops to businesses on Harington St, Mclean St and The Strand asking for feedback about the road changes. A public drop-in session was also held.

Most feedback was in favour of Harington St returning to two-way, he said.

People who regularly used the city centre were more in favour of Harington St being one-way, said Geard.

Occasional visitors and the businesses they went to preferred the street becoming two-way again, he said.

Deputy Mayor Jen Scoular says Harington St needs to return to two-way as soon as possible. Photo / David Hall

The feedback showed 40% of the 25 respondents supported Harington St being two-way, 10% favoured it being one-way and 50% were neutral, according to Geard’s report.

If the council chose to return the street to two-way traffic there were benefits of doing that over the Easter weekend in April, Geard said

This was because there were cost savings from combining the work needed to change Harington St back and the traffic management needed for the Jazz Festival road closures.

Deputy Mayor Jen Scoular said people had been impacted by the road changes and feedback said the measures needed to be reversed so this should happen as soon as possible.

The council voted to return Harington St two-way. The timing for the changes is yet to be decided.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.