Efforts to improve Palmerston North's Broadway Ave appear to have fallen flat as the latest pedestrian count shows a drop in foot traffic.

Shoppers appear to be continuing to flock to The Plaza as the area keeps a stronghold on its place as the top spot in the Property Institute's 2015 Palmerston North pedestrian count.

The Plaza's main entrance in The Square had 1398 people walk past it during the 90 minutes the counting took place, while foot traffic on Downtown's Broadway Ave entrance, near O'Briens Sandwich Cafe, dropped by 32.3 per cent compared to the survey in 2014, after redevelopments.

The first stage of the development involved moving the Cotton On store to the Broadway Ave side of Downtown. The mall's food court was removed to make room for the store.

Stage two of the development, to be completed next year, will transform the remaining empty space into a street market-style food court.

Quotable Value Palmerston North valuer Jason Hockly said he had thought foot traffic would rebound after stage one of the Downtown development was complete.

"It actually went back a little bit," Hockly said.

"But when we survey, we are not capturing the night-time market.

"There's a lot of shops that are only going to do a lot of night trade."

During the survey, the Downtown complex was going through stage two of its redevelopment at the Main Stend.

Retailers on Broadway Ave have seen a downturn in business since Farmers moved to The Plaza in 2011, taking a large portion of the street's foot traffic with it.

Hockly said it would be interesting to see the impact the new Downtown food court has on pedestrian numbers.

The shopping complex's development had been delayed by "behind the scenes" discussions, Downtown manager Greg Key has said.

He said foot traffic numbers outside Downtown would likely be "off kilter" due to the recent store renovations.

Shoe Clinic co-owner Christine Hart said she was not surprised the Property Institute's survey showed a decrease in foot traffic along Broadway Ave.

Hart said she had noticed fewer people and an increase in car parks being available along the street.

"It's really easy to get a car park now, obviously since Farmers has gone to The Plaza. It's really sad to see."

The pedestrian counts were conducted in three half-hour sessions on a Wednesday and a Saturday in November.

Hart said for their store, which is situated on Broadway Ave, Mondays were busier than Wednesdays, and Saturdays "have been quieter, too, in the last month".

She said if the parking time was made cheaper or longer, it would help businesses and pedestrian traffic in the area.

Overall, the report showed little change to the previous year.

Hockly said George St had shown a slight improvement, likely in large part to the Cuba Carnival.

Palmerston North City Council economic policy adviser Peter Crawford said that for several years there had been growth around George St.

He said there had been more shops open in the area.