THE upgrade to the George Street roundabout continues to cause angst among business owners, who say there has been a lack of consultation and consideration for their business interests.
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Advanced Hearing Solutions director Matthew O'Neill said he came to work on Monday to find steel barricades one metre from the front door of his business, and was told council workers were about to remove the footpath in front of his shop.
He said he couldn't believe what was happening.
"I knew they were pulling up the roundabout; no one said anything about the footpath," he said.
"We had one client pull up on his mobility scooter to come in and see me but due to the barricades he couldn't turn into our shop, so I had to talk to him outside on the footpath.
"This caused further problems when the Live Better people had to come past with their wheelchairs as there was not enough room to pass my client and I had to move down the footpath to continue our conversation.
"The council workers advised me that they would put in a ramp for customers to access the premise. I informed them that it has to be accessible for older people with walkers and wheelchairs and mobility scooters.
"None of this work has been discussed with us ever."
He said as a hearing centre, the noise from the construction site has made business untenable.
"As a hearing healthcare provider, I require quiet to do our hearing test. We have managed so far, but this is ridiculous," he said.
"The heavy equipment which is being used to rip up concrete out the front, we can feel it through the floor.
"The saw they used to cut the road up, I measured the noise the other day and it was 110 decibels outside the glass door.
"The acceptable level is 80 before problems start to occur."
He said he has tried to work among the chaos, but the situation is only getting worse.
"I tried listening to clients in between all the noise but when they moved the barrier I became quite upset.
"I rang council and they said they were ripping up the footpath tomorrow. I said Tuesday and Wednesday are our busiest days; council just said 'there's not a lot we can do'.
"This is the busiest corner in Bathurst and they just rip it up; I never, ever envisaged it would become this bad.
"They said they were ripping up the road, not the footpath. No-one ever mentioned it. There's been no consultation and no consideration.
"How about they talk to the businesses? I would have shut for two days so they could do it all at once, not rip it up and do it bit by bit. It's not logical."
Bathurst mayor Graeme Hanger disagreed, and said council had delivered an extensive consultation and communications campaign about the upgrade.
"Advertisements have and continue to be run in local papers and Council is currently running a comprehensive radio campaign on both 2BS and B-Rock FM regarding the works," he said.
He said council is conscious of the impact the work has on businesses and is aiming to have it completed as quickly as possible.
"As a result, the work schedule includes extended work hours Monday to Friday as well as Saturday," he said.
