Alice Springs business owners fear history will repeat itself with new road for Todd Mall

Todd Mall traders have expressed concern about the council’s consultation process around a shared roadway through the mall, citing the impacts of a similar ‘revitalisation’ a decade ago.

Todd Mall traders feel they are not being listened to regarding a proposed road through the mall, as they wait for consultation plans to be released.

Council began seeking tenders for the multimillion dollar CBD revitalisation, budgeted to cost between $18m and $23m, last year, which highlighted possibly opening the mall as “a shared car, pedestrian and cyclist roadway”, among other upgrades.

Two separate petitions, one signed by more than 1000 residents and another signed by 95 per cent of traders in the mall, have since been presented to Alice Springs Town Council against the proposed roadway.

Alice Springs mayor Matt Paterson has come out in support of the concept, but in a town council meeting last month emphasised no decisions had been made with a stakeholder engagement plan from Jensen Plus endorsed by council in a closed meeting earlier that day.

Alice Springs mayor Matt Paterson has said he personally supports opening the mall to traffic. Picture: Laura Hooper.

“I think it (the petition) points to the misinformation that’s out there and I think that is completely vital that the narrative needs to be clear that absolutely no decision has been made in regards to any of the project upgrades,” he said.

“All members of the community will have their say in the design of the CBD.”

However, mall traders believe they are not being listened to, and hold concerns the consultation period will not be long enough for the public to accurately understand the impact of a roadway.

Sugar and Spice Children’s Boutique owner Sophie Mariott, who launched the first petition against the roadway in February, said it had been an incredibly stressful year waiting for consultation plans to be released.

Todd Mall Traders Venita Poblocki, Sophie Marriott and Anastasia Byrnes are fearful for the future of their businesses if a road is placed through Alice Springs' Todd Mall. Picture: Laura Hooper

“This has consumed a lot of my time and effort,” she said.

“It’s really stressful because I need to make sure I have all bases covered because what if in the end, somehow, a road does get put through, it’s going to be the end of my business, I would actually have to move because people would not want to come to my shop.”

She expressed concern about the length of time taken between the consultation plan being endorsed by council and released to the public.

“We’re still waiting for a consultation timeline,” she said.

“It was supposed to be released last week, and then they said this week but it hasn’t happened yet.

“They hope to have consultation finished by November, which is not far.”

The consultation plan had not been released as of 5pm Tuesday.

This Is Aboriginal Art owner Venita Poblocki said her business would also close if a road went through the mall.

“We had two years of Covid and the businesses that survived, they just survived, and then we had last year which was a good year, this year is an absolutely flat tourist year,” she said.

Business owners fear opening the mall to traffic will mean the end of their businesses. Picture: Annabel Bowles

“We’re all either haemorrhaging money or taking out loans to keep our businesses going.

“We’re fearful the consultation is simply a process of ticking the box.”

Mayor Matt Paterson had previously said opening malls up to traffic in locations such as Newcastle and Wollongong had created a “much more inviting space”, but Ms Poblocki argued those locations were “completely different” to Alice Springs.

“Newcastle’s income comes from coal and electricity, our main income comes from tourism, if we do not have a central tourist hub for tourists to come then we’re simply turning Alice Springs into a location and a service town and not a destination,” she said.

Mixed Lollies owner Anastasia Byrnes, who has run her boutique clothing store on Todd Mall for 18 years, has seen the impact of changes to Todd Mall on business.

The Todd Mall redevelopment had major impacts in 2014.

A $5.4m redevelopment of the mall, turning the northern section of the mall into a shared roadway, completed in 2014 caused significant disruption to businesses in the area.

“Two shops next to me closed down, it was a mess,” she said.

“I don’t think it’s made more traffic. I know I don’t go down there to stop in and park and go jump out, I would just park anywhere and walk in, which is what you want to do on a mall.”

Ms Poblocki agreed.

“They promised all of these things like bus stops and everything that would bring everyone in and none of it ever happened, a lot of promises,” Ms Poblocki said.

All traders said they were happy to see redevelopment in the CBD, but wanted any changes to bring foot traffic into the area, which they said a roadway would not do.

“We need to take into account what is going to happen in Alice Springs with the National Aboriginal Art Gallery going ahead, it makes sense to retain the mall as is and really lift it to compliment that and encourage a flow of foot traffic and vice versa,” Ms Marriott said.

“We want to build on what we’ve got to offer as a unique town, and at the end of the day we voted in the counsellors to represent our voices, so with this consultation coming up, we really hope they listen to us and vote accordingly.”

The group is putting forward their own vision for the revitalisation, with ideas including more parks and play areas, increased amenities such as public toilets and water misters throughout the mall.

“We want to see a true revitalisation of the mall, not a destruction of it, it’s a great base, it worked before Covid and it will work again, it just needs some smart initiatives around it,” Ms Poblocki said.