CHANGES to the Wanneroo Road-Joondalup Drive intersection have caused traffic to bank up during peak periods, causing delays and a downturn in trade for local shops.
After the intersection reopened with a temporary roundabout on Monday, some customers visiting the Drovers Market Place said it took them 45 minutes to travel from Burns Beach Road to the shops.
Pet City licensee Ian Smith said the small business, which had been at Drovers more than 10 years, was losing about $1000 a day in trade.
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READ NOWAfter regular customers told staff the latest changes meant they would avoid the area and shop elsewhere, Mr Smith said he might have to reduce staff hours if the trend continued over the next 12 months of construction.
“The road works have deterred customers,” he said.
“Several businesses have gone broke, which has affected us in the downturn (of trade).”
Mr Smith said the impact of the weekend closure of the intersection was “not as severe as I’ve experienced in the past” and the company building the interchange, CPB, was “spending a lot of money going about it in a more compassionate way”.
“The company has done more than most to try and mitigate what is an awkward situation,” he said.
“The traffic built up in the peak hour is at this point in time stretching back literally kilometres.
“We had about 10 customers come through saying it took 45 minutes to get to the car park.”
Main Roads media manager Dean Roberts said the government agency had received limited direct feedback since the closure and traffic was generally adapting well to the new configuration.
“It is unlikely that the new temporary configuration will add to journey times,” he said.
“Road users are encouraged to be vigilant, approach the roundabout at the appropriate speed and give way to the right.
“We are carefully monitoring traffic flow during the PM peak and a temporary signal is in operation on Wanneroo Road (northbound).
“It may take a number of days to ensure the signal pattern is delivering the optimum traffic flow.”
Drovers Market Place owner Ray Jackson said the road work had “created mayhem” and would take people longer to turn left into Joondalup Drive from Drovers Place.
“When there were lights at the intersection of Wanneroo Rd and Joondalup Dr, the light changes allowed a break in the traffic flow, west along Joondalup Drive, exiting onto Joondalup Dr was easier,” he said.
Mr Jackson said the right turn should not have been closed from Joondalup Drive into Drovers Place as traffic numbers had dropped since the Mitchell Freeway extension to Hester Avenue opened in 2017.
While the State Government promotes the $50 million interchange as a congestion-busting project to improve traffic flow in the region, Mr Smith said it had a real impact on businesses and there was no support to compensate for that.
“Unless we can prove that they stopped traffic flow to our business, there’s not redress to any business,” he said.
“They haven’t blocked the road entry.”
Mr Smith said he expected it could take five years to recover the business, if it remained viable over the next 12 to 18 months.
The temporary roundabout will remain until mid-2020 while the Joondalup Drive bridge is built over a permanent roundabout on Wanneroo Road as part of the interchange project.
