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DANCE DISAPPOINTMENT, PAGE 3
25 SEPEMBER - 8 OCTOBER, 2020
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Restrictions have been eased and some sense of normality is beginning to creep back into our lives. Voice photographer Louisa Jones caught up with Emma and Tom enjoying life at Point Lonsdale this week.
Terrace to remain open By Justin Flynn An Ocean Grove cafe owner has reassured non-hospitality businesses on The Terrace that there were never any plans to close the street to vehicles. Driftwood Cafe’s Ty Simons spoke with Geelong Chamber of Commerce president Mark Edmonds about the possibility of allowing cafes and restaurants to extend their trading space into adjacent car parks. It came after COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed in regional Victoria to allow hospitality venues to restart dine-in trading. However, several traders on Ocean Grove’s main street were concerned that their businesses would suffer if the street was closed or if car parks were taken away.
‘‘
Hospitality brings people to the streets
’’
- Ty Simons
Mr Simons said there was never any possibility that The Terrace would be shut off from traffic. He said out of the 53 car parks on The Terrace, nine may be used by hospitality to allow al-fresco dining. This would allow cafes and restaurants to seat more customers. “People have taken that I want to close down the whole street,” Mr Simons, who is also president of Ocean Grove Business Association, said.
“That was never my intention and I don’t know where they have gotten it from. “Mark [Edmonds] was asking me as a hospitality person, ‘what’s happening with restaurants and outside dining?’. “We need to expand outside. The [Victorian] Premier has put in $187.5 million into funding outdoor furniture, umbrellas and barricades and encouraging councils to help businesses to get onto the streets. But closing off the street is absolutely not going to happen. “The idea is to use a few spaces temporarily while the Premier has us under these conditions. “I don’t want this to be a war. Getting people to town is good for us all.” Mr Simons said the idea was to possibly use nine car parks during the day and 13 at night, with the extra four spaces at the Presidents
Avenue end of The Terrace, which caters for most of the night-time hospitality traders. “Hospitality brings people to the streets,” he said. “On a busy summer’s day we seat 700 people at Driftwood. That’s 700 people that are potentially going to buy something at the Green Room, or buy some flowers, or a book or a bottle of wine. “Our business normally seats 115 inside and out. For the foreseeable future we can only seat 32, if the weather permits. That’s simply not viable. We need to expand outside, but closing off the entire street was never an option.” OGBA on Tuesday night voted not to support car park space use as a majority of traders were opposed. However, each business can apply to Geelong council to use car parks and footpaths on a case by case basis.
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