Retailers in Balclutha are frustrated the Clutha District Council has launched another round of consultation about shifting State Highway 1 from the main street after the last public consultation two years ago showed 63% wanted to keep the status quo.
Most retailers contacted by the Otago Daily Times yesterday said they feared shifting SH1 from Clyde St would kill the town.
"It will be a ghost town, no two ways about it," BP Balclutha manager Tom Boyle said.
Mr Boyle urged retailers and residents to fill out the council's submission form and to leave positive suggestions for improvements to the main street.
"The general consensus is why would you even bother to shift the highway. Businesses are feeling the pinch now and this would make it worse."
Selena Aitken-Boyle, owner of Blondee hair salon, said the idea of changing the status quo was upsetting.
"We need the town to stay open to traffic the way it is. It could ruin all of us; we can't afford to lose the trade."
Funeral director Doug Nesbit, of Doug Nesbit Funeral Services Ltd on James St, said taking SH1 away from Clyde St would kill the town.
"It affects everyone, not just retailers, but I think main street retailers would be the main losers if the highway was shifted. SH1 needs to go straight through the town."
As a heavy traffic bypass, James St was busy enough for hundreds of people to cross for funeral services. Moving SH1 to the street would be a traffic nightmare, Mr Nesbit said.
Maree McGrouther, owner of Cafe 55 on Clyde St, said she could see good and bad aspects of all three options.
"It wouldn't affect our business too much as a lot of our business is local. But I think it could take away many potential customers, and we have a lot of eateries in town, mostly on Clyde St."
Clutha District Council district assets manager Jules Witt said that for a number of years, there had been debate about whether the existing arrangement of a state highway on Clyde St and two heavy traffic bypasses provided the best outcome for Balclutha.
Mr Witt said the current state highway designation "significantly restricts" what improvements the council could make to the Balclutha main street and the positioning of the state highway had implications well into the future for infrastructure in the town and where development could take place.
In August 2010, the council consulted on eight options for the location of State Highway 1.
The results of that consultation showed 63% favoured maintaining the status quo (option A), with moving the state highway to either Charlotte St or James St as the highest ranking alternatives at 8% and 6% respectively.
Mr Witt said the council's ability to carry out any improvements to Clyde St was "significantly limited" because of its state highway designation. Any alterations to a state highway must be approved by the New Zealand Transport Agency.
The Clutha District Council has not yet made any decisions about which option it prefers.
More detailed information and submission forms are available on the council website www.cluthadc.govt.nz, with submissions closing on April 16.
