Plans to ease a curve on State Highway 1 will disadvantage two high-profile businesses and could pitch pedestrians on to a dangerous and busy road, worried Blueskin Bay locals say.
The claims are from some of the seven submissions to the Dunedin City Council opposing the New Zealand Transport Agency's (NZTA) proposal to realign about 1km of highway near Waitati, north of Dunedin.
Another two submissions supported the $5 million plan, while three more were neutral.
Blueskin General Store operators Brent and Heather Bell, whose store is in the middle of the proposed realignment, said they would prefer the job did not go ahead.
Their store is on the west side of the highway and has direct access from the road.
Under the plan, it would be moved to the east side, where highway access would be from Harvey St.
In their submission, the Bells say their business would suffer if moved across the highway.
They believed traffic would bypass the store rather than turn off the road.
"Without direct access for passing traffic, we feel it will not remain viable."
They acknowledged NZTA and consultants MWH had worked to find a compromise.
They said they were prepared to continue to work with them if the project was approved.
Blueskin Nurseries and Cafe directors Mark and Clare Brown said they invested in their business with no knowledge it would someday be less visible from the highway.
They were granted consent for the new building in 2003, and the consent was renewed in 2008.
Neither the council nor NZTA said during the consent process the highway outside was earmarked for development, they say in their submission.
The couple worried the development, which could take 24 months to complete, would have "major effects" on their business.
It might be hard to access the site during the roadworks, and the business might not be visible to southbound traffic when the development was finished.
The couple was also concerned that the southbound bus stop was not big enough and shared the concern of the Otago Regional Council, that people would have to cross the highway to get to the northbound bus.
Land could be contaminated at the current store site, which used to be service station, and across the road, where a rubbish tip used to be.
NZTA needed consent to disturb both plots, the regional council said.
The proposed realignment ran parallel to the Titri fault and had the potential for liquefaction.
City council planner Jacinda Baker said another seven submissions were made to the consent application to move the store across the road, but these were not available yesterday.
