Warrnambool City Council will change the way works will be implemented in stage two of the CBD renewal after concerns from restaurant and cafe owners.
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Warrnambool mayor Robert Anderson told The Standard the works would start on the northern end in February and would take about nine months to complete.
He said after discussions with traders it had been decided to do both sides of the road at the northern end first to allow restaurants to be easily accessed up until the May races.
In the middle of the year the two lanes at the bottom end of Liebig Street will start.
“It gives people the chance to drive up and do a U-turn and come back down the restaurant end,” he said.
“It will work in reverse once the northern end is done. Hopefully it may quicken the process, but we can’t make it shorter until we get into the project.”
He said there was concerns among traders because May race week was a busy time.
“We’ve looked at it and decided this is the way to go,” he said.
“A lot of restaurants have rear entrances and they should be selling that to customers now, to come in the back way.
“Not everyone can park in Liebig Street, but we do have the off-street car parks and laneways people can come up.”
He said Brightbird Espresso had made good use of its rear access during the works.
The Standard contacted four restaurants/cafes in the area, however they declined to comment.