We have fantastic businesses in Upper North Street. You can eat and drink here, get your hair and nails done, buy groceries, plants, books, clothes and antiques, and have fun at the escape room with your friends!  As Andrew Marcantonio, Manager of Nowhere Man cafe on Upper North Street, said “The Western Road Improvement Plan is defective.  It did not include how the Council plans to make this plan happen.  It doesn’t take a genius to work out the Council needs to keep the buses on Western Road with two way traffic and temporary traffic lights.  If the Council had bothered to consult with local leaders, business and residents we’d have told them!” 

The Council has said that one of the reasons for the diversion of 700 buses and 850 taxis per day along Upper North Street is “There is a need to maintain access to businesses [in Western Road]…” How will the diversion help maintain access to the businesses in Upper North Street? Western Road businesses need people in their street, getting on and off buses, and Upper North Street businesses don’t need a constant stream of buses passing by or buses making parking even more difficult for their customers. The Council’s plan is a lose:lose for businesses in Western Road and Upper North Street in the midst of a cost of living crisis and soaring energy costs.