Procurement News Notice |
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| PNN | 240 |
| Work Detail | "Perpetual" construction/reconstruction of downtown streets, sidewalks and sewers is making some merchants feel like they are in a state of "blockade." "Free the Walnut Six" is the headline of an advertisement published on Friday in the Ball State Daily News. "Run the blockade! Break the embargo! Support Casa Del Sol (Mexican Grill), Hayloft (Boutique), Heorot (Pub), Town Boutique, Vera Mae's (Bistro), and Wishbone (Gifts) … run the gauntlet, and get your rewards by supporting small businesses." And they aren't the only businesses feeling cut off from customers by the city. The Downtown Farm Stand organic grocery store/caterer/deli on Friday offered yet another special (Pho Ga Vietnamese chicken-noodle soup and a wine tasting) "in an effort to try and battle through the road closures and the seriously reduced business we're experiencing." "It's not construction so much as road closures," says Dave Ring, owner of the Farm Stand. "That's the issue. We did a survey of our customers and got 200 responses. Thirty-five percent said the road closures have dramatically affected their ability or desire to come downtown. You can't expect them to come and fight something they don't enjoy fighting." Fred Prow of Pazols Jewelers complained: "People can't get to us. People just can't get here. That's the first thing they say when they come in the door. This is not hurting us; it's killing us." Pazols has been doing business downtown since 1940. Sidewalk closures also have cut off foot traffic, says Jayme Klisavage of Wishbone. "It feels like we are under perpetual construction … it doesn't seem welcoming … It's all one-way streets and construction and road closures and you can't walk on the sidewalks." Since June, right outside of Pazols' front door, the intersection of Walnut and Jackson streets has been a giant, dusty, barricaded hole in the ground to and from which come dump trucks, backhoes, pipes, and construction workers. "There are a variety of really unique, good businesses downtown that are creating the vibe and atmosphere you want to see, but we are going to continue to lose business if there isn't some care taken and thought put into how to move forward and protect business," said Ring, who quoted a Muncie Sanitary District official as saying downtown sewer construction work will take years more to finish. "It makes you wonder if being downtown is a viable option for your business." Stan Stephens, the owner of the Heorot who sponsored the Daily News ad, has been offering beer specials to stimulate business. "The ad is to remind everybody that those businesses are still there," he told The Star Press. "Follow the road closed, road blocked signs. We will be right there, like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow." No one disputes the need for the construction work, which Prow says has been ongoing for at least three years. The projects include new brick sidewalks, street reconstruction, Americans With Disabilities Act curb ramps, traffic signal modernization and improvements to antiquated sewers that cause flooding and discharge hundreds of millions of gallons of untreated sewage annually into the White River. "The sewer separation and ADA compliance components are elements that are federally mandated," Vicki Veach, director of Muncie Downtown Development Partnership, told The Star Press on Friday. She was pleased to announce that the end is near, in terms of Walnut Street construction between Main Street and the downtown roundabout. "We received confirmation this morning that the phase south of Charles Street is ahead of schedule and on track to be paved beginning the first of next week," she said. "I am happy to say that as of now the (Walnut Street) project in its entirety is still on schedule for substantial completion by the end of September, first of October." That will be just in time for a "DWNTWN Re-Opening Celebration" during ArtsWalk 2016 on Oct. 6, among other events including "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," a Moonlight Movie showing on Sept. 10 on Canan Commons. Though some merchants say they are getting no help in convincing the public to keep coming downtown, Veach says the downtown partnership has promoted downtown through billboards, TV, radio and print advertisements in addition to launching a new Facebook campaign and hosting more than 50 days of events at Canan Commons and other downtown venues this summer. A DWNTWN Update Meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1, at The CO:Lab, 420 S. High St. The agenda includes a construction update, a mini-workshop on how DWNTWN merchants can leverage and improve their own social media marketing efforts, an update on two-way traffic, and launching a new public relations campaign to build excitement for the October re-opening. Speakers will include Mayor Dennis Tyler. Some merchants appear more optimistic than others, such as Debbe Caine of Hayloft Boutique. Getting to downtown businesses "has been a little bit of an adventure, a little bit of a maze," she said, "but it's going to be gorgeous when it's done and well worth it. I opened mid-construction last year and I am surviving. And I've had several people come into the store to question me about opening more businesses down here." But across the street at Town Boutique, Mattie Coleman has been "just sitting here doing nothing." If she hadn't started going on the road, for example paying $800 to $900 for booth space (plus hotel expenses) at a United Baptist Church event in Cincinnati, "I'd be gone." Walnut and Jackson streets, where sewer improvements have been occurring this summer, "is probably the worst intersection in Muncie" in terms of the number of buried gas, electric, water, storm sewer, sanitary sewer, steam, communications and other utility lines, says Phil Tevis, the city's streetscape consultant. Four contractors, subcontractors and the water company have been working at the intersection. All kinds of utility people have been summoned to the site when unforeseen, unidentified and abandoned lines have been encountered. "You can't dig through what you think is an abandoned line until somebody says to cut it," Tevis said. Despite the difficulties found at the intersection, the project at that intersection remains under budget and on schedule. |
| Country | United States , Northern America |
| Industry | Construction |
| Entry Date | 02 Sep 2016 |
| Source | http://www.thestarpress.com/story/news/local/2016/08/28/downtown-merchants-bemoan-construction-blockade/89403078/ |
