Roadworks on one of Tauranga's main roads are hurting businesses, with one owner saying if her parking goes from out front, she'll have to 'shut up shop”.

And a commercial property owner in the area believes Seventh Ave is the 'sacrificial lamb” in the project.

The Cameron Rd end of Seventh Ave will become a cul de sac, preventing any access from the street on to or from Cameron Rd. Businesses on Cameron Rd and Seventh Ave are understood to also lose parking as a result of the change.

The $97.5 million Cameron Road Stage 1 project, by Tauranga City Council, is adding a separated two-way cycleway, bus lanes and making layout changes to Cameron Road between Harrington Street and 17th Avenue.

The upgrading of 100-year-old infrastructure including sewers, wastewater pipes and stormwater treatments was also being undertaken.

Owner of Sand Bakery and Café Lina Chea says business has started to slow down since the roadworks started.

The majority of her customers park out front of her Cameron Road bakery to stop in and quickly get food, so parking was really important, says Lina.

'They [the council] have blocked all the corner parking already. If they block in front of us as well, maybe I need to shut the shop.”

A parking bay at the start of Seventh Ave is no longer accessible from Cameron Rd and it will be reduced to two carparks and become green space once the project is complete.

The parking directly out front of Sand Bakery will become a bus stop and parking has been moved further up the road, but is part of the bus lane so would not be available during morning and afternoon peak traffic.

Wilson Osteopathy clinical director Andrew Wilson questioned why Seventh Ave was the only street chosen to become a cul-de-sac.

'Seventh Avenue is actually a very high thoroughfare avenue. That's going to be quite inconvenient for all the people who do need to access [it] and need access to the parking.”

There were a number of high traffic businesses at the start of the street and four health centres further up, including his own, says Wilson.

Around 50 clients a day visited his clinic, he says.

The traffic and roadworks was already having an impact on business, with people running late or cancelling because they couldn't make appointments on time, he says.

'We probably don't see that recovering to any great extent. Because I don't think people are going to want to come into town much so much anymore with Cameron Road being so restricted in traffic flow, with access being more difficult, and parking being more difficult.”

Wilson says they had asked to council to make Seventh Ave a left turn in only but they had 'not much joy from them”.

As part of the Cameron Road Project Seventh Ave will become a cul-de-sac. Photo: John Borren/SunLive.

Tauranga City Council director of transport Brendan Bisley says during planning and design a number of side streets were considered for cul-de-sac and left in/left out only to help with reducing vehicle turning movements onto Cameron Road and allow safer and better walking and cycling.

'The final design includes a cul-de-sac at Seventh Avenue and a number of side streets restricted to left in/left out only to provide better pedestrian links and green spaces.

'Seventh Avenue was chosen as suitable for a cul-de-sac as this road has good alternative connections for residents onto Cameron Road, which will still be accessible for traffic from Eighth Avenue and Sixth Avenue,” he says.

'To mitigate removed parking, additional time restricted spaces will be installed on the side roads and additional angle parking spaces provided where possible.”

Building owners were also worried their investments would lose value with the road changes and be more difficult to tenant.

Simon Clark owns a commercial property on Seventh Ave that is tenanted and says the changes will have a 'negative effect”.

'People want ease to access with commercial properties so it's definitely going to affect the long-term lease-ability of the property.”

Clark also questioned why Seventh Ave was the only one being completely blocked off, especially seeing Fifth Ave was proposed a cul-de-sac as well but council changed this after consultation with businesses and residents.

'We didn't pick up on it and it was very poorly publicly notified, then we're the weakest link.

'None of the avenues wanted to be closed. We are just the unlucky ones that weren't told correctly about it.

'Why are we the sacrificial lamb?”

Christine Currie owns 405 Cameron Road and says the value of her multimillion dollar property could drop by several hundred thousand dollars because it is no longer a corner site.

'I went and got a valuation from a registered valuer, and it takes a hunk of value off the building.”

Bisley says the council had been working on the project with businesses along Cameron Road for the past few years.

'Communications and consultation have been carried out with businesses and residents along this section of Cameron Road since 2018 about the plans, designs and the construction work, including door knocking and letter drops.

'The design plans were made publicly available in March 2021 and shared with businesses, and have been available on the project webpage since then,” he says.

'Cameron Road needs to provide for all transport modes to a high standard and one of the key outcomes of the project is to make Cameron Road safer for all users.

'We want to create a destination, not just a commuting corridor.”

-Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.