CARDIFF businesses are divided over a six-month streetscape transformation planned for the town centre.
"It's a nice idea but it's the wrong place," Cardiff jeweller Robin Roworth said.
The NSW government has invested almost half a million dollars in a Lake Macquarie City Council project which would see the end of Veronica Street, at the intersection with Main Road, closed to become a "pedestrian-friendly space".
Seating, trees, pavement artwork and a stage will be installed in the Veronica Place project, open from October 2022 to April 2023.
The $496,000 NSW government grant is part of the Streets as Shared Spaces program. According to a council spokesperson, Veronica Place is proposing to deliver three "small activation events" in the six months.
"Our events team will look at what small scale events would work to attract foot traffic and encourage people to linger, creating opportunities for small businesses," the spokesperson said.
Council said the project is consistent with goals of the 2012 Cardiff Streetscape Masterplan such as "creating inviting entry points and vistas" and that results of the trial will help inform the Masterplan.
Ms Roworth told the Newcastle Herald she is against the project, which sits between her store and the Post Office, because of its impact on traffic and parking.
"It's going to block access in and out of this street which is very heavily used by the people that live here, the people that work here and a lot of through traffic," she said.
"We've been here about 47 years and in all that time the one complaint is that there is not enough parking.
"Do what needs to be done and fix what needs to be fixed, in particular the parking problem, then move on to something else."
As part of the pilot program, council will monitor usage and demand for the space to see if it should become a permanent fixture. This includes the impact of fewer parking spaces in the area.
Six car parks are estimated to be taken up by the project and council said they are "keen to work with local businesses and the community to look at options to address the temporary loss of parking spaces".
The spokesperson also said council, as part of the Cardiff transport management plan adopted in 2021, will look to implement a range of recommendations to address parking concerns which include working with RailCorp to formalise parking at Mary Street and Myall Road and installing technology to monitor timed public parking.
Sydney West from A Good Day cafe, across the road from the Veronica Place site, said she is "excited" about the project.
"I think it's going to be good for Cardiff to be bought back into the modern age," Ms West said.
"It might encourage more people to stop here rather than just driving through. I hope it does.
"It will be an inconvenience. The street is used by a lot of people and for a lot of parking but I think the space will be for the better."
