Alfresco no go

By Melissa Grant
ALFRESCO dining and outdoor trading in Pakenham is about to be shaken up, with the Cardinia Shire Council introducing a footpath trading code in a bid to improve pedestrian safety and access.
Traders will no longer be able to place tables, chairs and trestles against the wall of their shops – they will have to provide a 1.5 metre clearway from their building lines to provide a continuous path of travel for pedestrians.
Some traders say their businesses will be adversely affected by the new rules and are outraged they weren’t consulted about them.
Pakenham Discounts owner Terry Baldwin said his trade could drop dramatically if he was forced to move his trestles.
He said moving trestles 1.5 metres away from the wall was a bad idea as it would make it easier for people to steal items from them and was angry he hadn’t been previously consulted about the changes.
“If I can’t put trestles out I could lose 30 per cent trade.”
“A lot of people impulse buy. That’s how small business works – advertising and promoting your wares.”
The rules are part of the Cardinia Footpath Trading Code, which the council is introducing to ensure compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1992.
Under the code, eateries will only be able to place tables and chairs 1.5 metres away from their building line and 0.6 metres away from the kerb.
Great Australian Bakehouse owner Neil McLatchie described the new guidelines as “ludicrous”.
He said the changes would force him to have two chairs per table instead of three.
Café 127 owner Michelle Matthes said she would have to reconfigure her seating arrangements, moving tables and chairs away from up against the building.
“It’s annoying and frustrating because people prefer to sit under this side (wall) because it’s more protected near the window,” she said.
Pakenham Business Group (PBG) president Michael Porter said the footpath trading code would at least ensure a uniform set-up along Main Street.
He said currently pedestrians were forced to weave in between seating and trestles in some retail areas.
“You have to have a fair balance for people walking up and down the footpath,” he said.
“At least this way there’s a clearway all way along.”
The report stated that the council had a legal obligation to provide a safe environment for all people to move through the shire, and part of this was to provide a continuous and accessible path of travel.
“The DDA makes it illegal for anyone to make it difficult for a person with a disability to enter a business or use a footpath,” the report read.
The aim of the footpath trading code is to maintain a balance between pedestrian access and the activities of traders.
It also aims to regulate all commercial activity on the shire’s footpaths to achieve fairness and equity between traders.
Traders have until 31 August to comply with the code.
>>> What do you think about the new footpath trading code? Email melissa.grant@starnewsgroup.com.au or write to the News at PO Box 9, Pakenham, 3810.