Manuka's dispute isn't just about profits

On the one hand, there are the restaurants and cafes which have been hit as hard as any in the pandemic. When Canberra got locked down, their customers got locked out.

They welcome the conversion of Franklin Street into an outdoor dining area. As summer approaches, the widened space lifts their capacity - and lifts the spirits of people with an appetite for outdoor dining.

The proof of the pudding is in their takings. "We have had a huge uptick in trade since we've been able to place tables and chairs on the road," John-Paul Romano, the owner of the Italian Brothers bar and cafe, said.

But on the other side are the storekeepers who feel their trade depends on cars. Cut down on vehicular access and parking spaces, and you cut down on the numbers coming to their shops.

Newsagent Matt Nobbs said the closure had caused a "definite decline in trade and massive inconvenience to customers". "Labelling it a disaster is being kind," he said.

Both sides have a valid argument. Both were hard-hit by lockdowns. Both are trying to recover. This seems like a clear and unambiguous conflict over the same bit of acreage. A gain for one is a loss for the other.

The good news is that the scheme is only a two-week pilot, at the end of which the ACT government will adjudicate.

But the people with this impossible task need to have a broad view. This isn't just a commercial matter. It shouldn't be simply a calculation of which businesses will be hurt more.

Even if the bar and restaurant owners benefit immediately, that doesn't mean the current transformation of the street into an annex for them should continue.

It is also about the character of Manuka. Does converting a charming shopping street into an entertainment hub benefit the wider community?

Franklin Street and the streets around it have a cache across Canberra as an attractive venue for a relaxed browsing expedition. There are clothes shops, a bookshop, a seller of stylish Japanese porcelain and the newsagent - plus, of course, the restaurants. It is a meeting place for a coffee and a chat on a weekend morning. Turning it into a venue dominated by diners and drinkers would alter that character.

And, though they may not realise it at the moment, that might be to the detriment of some of the restaurants and cafes.

When people go to Manuka to, at the very least, window shop, they end up spending money in ways they might not have imagined at the outset. And they invariably end up having a coffee and some sort of delight on a plate.

When a bookshop thrives, there's a good chance the coffee shop next door will get a bit of trade from a satisfied reader.

If the character of Manuka changed into that of a dining destination alone, the smaller delis and cafes might not benefit.

That is the bigger assessment which the planners in the ACT government need to make. It is not just a dispute between shopkeepers over diners versus drivers.

It is also about the character of a characterful part of Canberra.

There may be a compromise. Might the restaurants have the street in the evening, for example, leaving the drivers to get into the other shops during the day?

A compromise would be wonderful - but it wouldn't be easy to enact.

If not, let Manuka's charm remain.

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