Pakuranga MP Simeon Brown has a bird’s eye view of the unsightly mess that is the current state of Pakuranga Plaza from the first floor of his local electorate office over the road.
As the Times has reported in recent weeks, business owners and workers at the once-popular shopping precinct say they’re struggling due to constant road works and development being carried out as part of the Eastern Busway public transport project and the associated Reeves Road Flyover.
They say their customers find it difficult to get into and out of the Plaza by vehicle and also complain about the loud noise and shaking from the use of heavy machinery.
The stressful situation is similar to the experience of businesses that had the misfortune of being located in the path of the City Rail Link project in Auckland CBD.
Numerous businesses and restaurants in that area have closed in recent years due to a steep drop in customers and foot traffic.
In July the Times reported the longest-running business at the Plaza, Life Pharmacy, was closing its doors after almost 50 years due to factors including disruption from construction work for the busway.
“The biggest and most obvious thing is a combination of the busway, the Reeves Road Flyover, the roading, and the waterworks,” owner Peter Guthrie said.
“Everything is being dug up, the car park is dug up, it’s impossible a lot of the time to get in and out of the centre and access is difficult.
“It’s constantly a nightmare as far as that goes, especially for our older customers.”
Guthrie said business had “dramatically decreased” since the busway construction work around the Plaza got under way.
His staff would hear from customers “50 times a day” that it’s difficult to get into the Plaza by vehicle due to the roadworks.
“The hardest thing for a lot of people is that they want to go up Pakuranga Road but they don’t know what exit to go out of. Reeves Road is partially closed and a lot of people are just staying away.”
Brown says what’s happening at the Plaza is a “challenging situation” that involves a “private landowner who has to make commercial decisions”.
“They have obviously had the challenge of the construction and the consenting and all of that stuff.
“I know there are conversations around redevelopment. They’ve been ongoing and I hope to see those progress, but at the end of the day you’ve got a commercial owner who makes commercial decisions.
“It is a bit disappointing when you look at it but there’s also a lot of disruption happening around that Plaza at the same time, which does make it hard for businesses to invest and hard for shops to take on long leases as well.
“So it is unfortunate and I know a lot of people make choices to go elsewhere in terms of their shopping.”
Despite that, Brown says he believes the Plaza’s future is “bright” once development of the busway and flyover are complete.
“That’s a few years away. Construction always has an impact, but at the same time we keep working with Auckland Transport, ensuring the impact they’re having is minimalised, whether it’s traffic or access.
“It is a challenge for those businesses and the people who work there, which is not easy.”
