BUSINESS owners argue a proposal to widen Wollombi Road at Cessnock will cripple their customer base and come at a cost to ratepayers.
The Save Wollombi Road community group is taking consultation into its own hands, holding a town meeting this weekend in the hopes of having their questions answered.
Naomi Smith owns a business on Wollombi Road, which the council proposes to widen to four lanes in an effort to reduce congestion.
"The concern is that if there's four lanes on Wollombi Road and the convenience is removed for customers, clients and patients then they're going to go elsewhere," she said.
"There are a lot of coffee shops, hairdressers, medical, we have a lot of services along that road and people want convenience.
"Cessnock is a small town at the end of the day and everyone loves convenience, if you take away the parking and paths where people can walk, there's still so many questions that council won't answer."
Cessnock City Council is in the design and planning stage for the upgrade of Wollombi Road, which it says will improve capacity, safety and ease traffic congestion.
The first stage of the project includes a 2.9km upgrade of the road between Abbotsford Street, Bellbird and West Avenue with plans to build a new intersection at Bellbird North. It's already funded through the state government and development contributions.
In the second stage, the council plans to upgrade 1km of the road between West Avenue and Vincent Street and is actively pursuing grant funding.
A council spokesman said the project is a longstanding local transport priority and it's focused on keeping the community engaged along the way.
"Council has several upcoming community engagement activities for the Wollombi Road Upgrade program as it progresses through the various stages of planning," he said.
"Council will continue to focus its efforts on liaising with the residents and businesses on and around Wollombi Road with our program of door-knocking, planned drop-in sessions, letterbox drops and community pop-ups.
"Council encourages local residents to take part in our ongoing engagement activities to hear accurate and first-hand information, which will continue to increase as the project progresses."
According to the council, the upgrade will directly benefit and accelerate the release of future residential development around Bellbird North, supporting about 3,500 new homes.
As far as Ms Smith is concerned, the council's consultation has been inadequate and community concerns haven't been addressed.
"We want people to know they're not alone," she said.
"The meeting on the weekend will give residents and business owners an opportunity to ask questions, we've invited councillors, ministers, the mayor and council staff themselves.
"We are the ones who will lose our businesses if this goes ahead."
She said the goal of the meeting is to put everything on the table and talk about options that could work for everyone.
"We want them to talk to us, that's why we voted them in, we want them to communicate, be open and honest and we want them to come along and feel welcome," she said.
"This isn't a witch hunt, we want them to come."
Early works are estimated to start mid-2024 with major works to come later in the year.
The project is expected to be completed late 2026.
The town meeting is being held at the East Cessnock Bowling Club on Sunday at 1pm.
