That would kill the heart of Wanaka, said businessman Toby Donnelly, part of the Heart of Wanaka group seeking support for the town’s CBD.
Mr Donnelly, along with other members, urban designer Garth Falconer, and cafe co-owner Chris Hadfield, is based in Wanaka’s central business district and is engaging in a second round of conversation about the lakefront precinct.
"I want accessibility for people who are bit less mobile. It is a big struggle for them and it is real," Mr Donnelly said.
The Heart of Wanaka project group formed earlier this year to drive the first round of discussion on a new Wanaka Town Centre Masterplan.
It is a decades-long discussion and various plans have come and gone.
But this time the group wants action — and not just for Helwick, Ardmore and Brownston Sts, but everything from Wanaka Station Park to Mount Aspiring College in Plantation Rd, and up to (but not including) the Wanaka Golf Course in Ballantyne Rd.
Group spokesman Andrew Howard said design would be collaborative and feedback had been positive.
The group was hearing people valued the town centre and wanted to retain its traditional values, he said.
Issues included safe streets, slower speeds, consideration of the elderly, open public spaces and more visibility and use of the library and Lake Wanaka Centre, he said.
There had also been strong feedback to locate the proposed arts and performance centre in the middle of town.
