THE owners of Wodonga’s Carrier Arms Hotel are upset by a council decision to dramatically reduce the number of parking spots outside the pub.
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A section of Church Street between Bond and South streets will link up with the recently completed roadway through Junction Place after Wodonga Council awarded a $334,000 construction contract last month.
But the number of parking spaces outside the pub will be slashed from 19 to five as the footpath is widened in Church Street.
Hotel operators Ron and Michelle Montgomery are fearful about the impact on their business and the safety of patrons.
They say they weren’t consulted about the reduction of parking spaces before the council awarded the contract at its January meeting.
The council is also planning major changes to parking in South Street near the Carrier Arms, Conway Funeral Home and Albury-Wodonga Community College run by Wodonga mayor Rodney Wangman.
Angle parking between Church and Smythe Streets will be replaced by parking spots constructed in the centre of the road.
But the pub and funeral home owners have been assured there will be no access issues once the changes are made.
Timed parking restrictions are also planned for the area with construction of a roundabout at the intersection of South and Church streets also under consideration.
Mr Montgomery said his clientele included elderly patrons who appreciated the ease of access to the pub from Church Street.
“What I am most fearful about is a serious injury or even worse when a patron leaves our business and has to cross a busy road, which South Street has become, to a car they are travelling in,” he said.
“Yes, we are for progress and improvement of the city, but not for a change that has not been fully considered.”
The council’s chief executive Patience Harrington and planning and infrastructure director Leon Schultz will meet this week with Mr Montgomery about his concerns.
“These works are part of a wider plan, the first step of which is the proposed centre median parking in South Street, which will provide additional parking in the area,” Ms Harrington said.
“The council is about to engage a consultant to provide an assessment of traffic movements at the intersection of South and Church streets and they will make suggestions on ways to improve this area following community feedback.”
The Church Street works approved last month are due to be completed in mid-March and follow the extension of the street across the former railway land from Elgin Boulevard to Bond Street.
The report unanimously passed by councillors last month stated there was a “full engagement process under way”.