Circle shops ‘suffering’

STEPHANIE BIRD

Woonona East Circle business owners say they have suffered financially from delays in finishing the Northern Distributor.

And last week’s opening of a new north-bound section of road between Bellambi Lane and York Place hasn’t helped matters.

Business owners say the latest roadwork has discouraged residents and customers even more from accessing “The Circle” shops.

Style Taps owner Brian Hoddle said people were discouraged by the changes and didn’t want to access the area.

“People don’t know how to get in here,” he said. “Opening the new section hasn’t helped at all, as it is even more confusing.

“We were only just getting used to the way it was before.”

Mr Hoddle has experienced a drop in business as customers were reluctant to access the area.

“The area is dangerous because there are stop signs you can’t see,” he said.

Woonona East Post Office owner Amanda Maslowski said the roadworks were designed to keep people out of The Circle shop area.

“The aim is to make people use Bellambi Lane and the Princes Highway and not access the area,” she said.

Member for Keira and Minister for Transport David Campbell said there were a number of signs up in the area to promote the Woonona East Shops and these signs would remain in place until construction was complete.

Traffic changes had been advertised in local papers by the RTA.

Delays to the construction work on the Northern Distributor resulted three months ago when cracks appeared and a land slip occurred.

An RTA spokesperson said the exact cause of the land slip is being investigated.

“The site was immediately secured to ensure public safety was never at risk,” the spokesman said.

The RTA was repairing the land slip area, including the construction of a retaining wall.

A completion date has not been announced, but it is expected to be later this year.

Mr Campbell said: “This is an important $100 million local project that will provide the community with a much better and safer road network.”