Sumner Rd connection brings boost for business

Lyttelton businesses are enjoying the benefits of a rise in visitors since Sumner Rd reopened two months ago.

The road connecting Lyttelton and Sumner was closed to traffic for eight years following extensive damage in the February 2011 earthquake sequence.

Lyttelton Harbour Business Association Chair Rob de Thier says the port town has been noticeably busier since Sumner Rd reopened in late March.

It reopened at the end of March after contractors spent two-and-a-half years working to reduce rockfall risk and then repair and reinstate the route. The project was jointly funded by Christchurch City Council and the New Zealand Transport Agency.

The repaired road has proved popular with motorists and cyclists and Christchurch City Council traffic counts on Evans Pass Rd at the bottom of the hill in Sumner show a 50 per cent increase in traffic on weekdays. On weekends the average number of vehicles more than doubled in the two weeks after the road reopened compared to the previous two weeks.

The average number of vehicles on a weekday grew from 1128 to 1750; on Saturdays it rose from 1292 to 2951; and on Sundays it increased from 1455 to 3045.

Lyttelton Harbour Business Association Chair Rob de Thier, who owns Lyttelton SuperValue, says there has been a dramatic pick-up in customers for local businesses, particularly those working in hospitality.

“It’s been good, especially for the coffee shops and bars. They’ve seen a noticeable increase since the road opened. With the supermarket it’s been steady instead of the normal drop-off we would have going into April and May. We haven’t had that yet.”

He says many visitors, particularly older couples, have told shop and café workers they used to feel too nervous to drive through the Lyttelton Tunnel following the earthquakes but they were happy to use the new road.

“We’ve also noticed what we call the lycra brigade arrive en masse after biking over the hill, they’ll stop here at the end of their ride to have coffees and meals.”

Lyttelton Coffee Culture Owner Leona Cooper says the upturn is “absolutely noticeable”.

“We’ve seen an increase every day, not just on weekends. There’s the cycling group and more elderly and middle-aged people. For some people it still is a scary thing heading through the tunnel, so for them, I think it’s really cool that they can come back to Lyttelton and take a scenic route getting here.

“Cyclists say it’s a fantastic gradient and they just love the road. It has reconnected Lyttelton to Christchurch I think.”

Council Transport Planning and Delivery Manager Lynette Ellis says it’s pleasing that people have welcomed the reopened road.

“It was a huge repair project but we can already see that it’s been worth the effort and motorists and cyclists are enjoying using this route.

“We always knew that the link between Lyttelton and Sumner was a really vital one and that reconnecting them would bring benefits to both communities so it’s wonderful to see that starting to happen.”