Rotorua dining destination Eat Streat could soon become a permanent fixture in the city.
An extraordinary meeting of the Rotorua District Council will be held on Monday to decide whether the street should once again be closed to traffic.
Eat Streat, on Tutanekai St between Pukaki and Whakaue streets, was reopened to
slow-moving traffic in June after being a pedestrian-only precinct since December 2008.
It was reopened as a trial during the winter months after some businesses in the area complained they were losing customers.
Council corporate planning and support manager Peter Christophers has recommended to the council that it approves a temporary road closure for The Streat so council officers can "undertake the necessary steps to establish a pedestrian mall for Eat Streat".
He said if councillors approved his recommendation on Monday, The Streat would be closed to traffic again by Friday.
"Eat Streat was initially closed in December 2008 as a trial to see if it would increase the vibrancy of Tutanekai St and meet the needs of diners eating out in Rotorua," Mr Christophers said.
"For the most part Eat Streat has been a success with council receiving a lot of positive feedback.
"However, there were a couple of businesses that were not entirely satisfied with Eat Streat."
Mr Christophers said the council had always intended to close the street to traffic again for the start of daylight savings on September 26.
He said council staff were looking at different options to make the road closure permanent and would be advising the council about those options within the next month.
"Reclosing the road will not please everyone, but the majority of businesses in that part of Tutanekai St want the road closed," Mr Christophers said.
"... the closure has contributed to the vibrancy of Rotorua and it is part of the urban design framework that is currently being consulted on."
He said any decision to close the street permanently to traffic would go out for public consultation in late September when the council would be asking for submissions for and against the proposal.
The councillors will debate the proposal at a meeting open to the public from midday on Monday in the council chambers.
