Businesses upset with City of Darwin after Smith Street Streetscape deters customers

Businesses on Darwin’s Smith St are concerned the council’s latest project, which has closed off an entire driving lane and removed a number of parking spots, will send customers away.

Construction has begun for the Smith Street Streetscape Project, and not all businesses are happy. Picture: Thomas McLean

Businesses on Darwin’s Smith St are concerned the council’s latest project, which has closed off an entire driving lane and removed a number of parking spots, will send customers away.

Works for the Smith Street Streetscape project officially began on March 31, however it is understood the “proper work” began only less than a week ago.

In an email to the City of Darwin, Poke Ola Director Max Campart said the consultation with small businesses was “simply not good enough”.

“This will be another kick in the guts for small businesses who help to realise your City of Darwin mandate as a ‘thriving and vibrant city’,” he said.

Max Campart, the owner of Top End shop Poke Ola, is not happy with the City of Darwin’s consultation. Picture: Supplied

Mr Campart said there was a “lot of noise” during trading hours which made business “unenjoyable” for customers.

“It’s hard to say what the full effects will be because we’re in the middle of Easter, but you can see by the blocked road and parking this will affect us,” he said.

On Thursday, this masthead spoke to a number of small businesses on Smith Street, with most sharing they either anticipated or had already seen a reduction in customers.

Piying Chien, who operates the bubble tea store, Bobar and Chillax Body Therapy, said she had seen a reduction in customers across the board since the project began.

She later claimed the City of Darwin “did not care” from the very first business consultation – which the small businesses had to organise themselves.

Ms Chien said Bobar had been affected the most out of her two businesses. Picture: Thomas McLean

“Imagine you are a resident or a tourist here and you see all this construction and no parking; would you want to come have a bubble tea or a massage? Or even a coffee? No.”

Ms Chien suggested a number of possible solutions, including breaking up the construction into a split process, rather than fencing off the whole road.

Responding to the claims, a spokesperson for the City of Darwin said it was “working hard to complete the project by July/August 2025”.

“We undertook considerable community consultation for the … project in June 2024,” the spokesperson said.

“Local traders received letters and were encouraged to provide feedback through the online survey, emailing their feedback, attending one of the pop-ups … or requesting to meet with City of Darwin staff.

Construction has begun for the Smith Street Streetscape Project, but not all businesses are happy. Picture: Thomas McLean

“Traders expressed their desire for the largest impact of work to be completed quickly and efficiently ahead of … July and August.

“We are investigating undertaking additional work after hours to ensure the project is complete on time, however this is based on contractor availability.

“After hours work will be communicated with affected parties ahead of time, however it is important to note there are two hotels included in the work zone which will be affected by after-hours work.

“Site fencing must remain in place until it is safe for the public … and would need to remain in place even when after-hours work was taking place.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused and will do our best to minimise disruptions to traders and visitors.

Originally published as Businesses upset with City of Darwin after Smith Street Streetscape deters customers