KELOWNA – It’s a familiar situation for many Okanagan business operators–road construction closures deterring customers and taking their financial toll. It wasn’t long ago that many merchants on Bernard Avenue experienced revenue losses as the City of Kelowna embarked on a downtown revitalization project. Now, businesses along a nearby section of Pandosy Street are also feeling the pain.
“People are starting to not come in, less and less,’ says Jyunya Nakamura, who owns the Wasabi restaurant.
At the nearby Pulp Fiction Coffee House, owner Max Sloan’s bottom line is also being affected, anywhere between 20 and 50 per cent.
“We have cut down on hours during construction, some staff not getting the hours they should be getting,” says Sloan.
The road construction project between Leon and Bernard Avenues started the third week of May. It includes underground utility work as well as safety improvements for pedestrians and new landscaping.
“As part of the plan this section of Pandosy, given that it terminates at Queensway, it was identified to be more of a pedestrian corridor than a thoroughfare,” says Andrew Albiston, project manager with the City of Kelowna.
Businesses on Bernard Avenue know all too well the pain associated with road closures. Downtown’s main street was closed on and off in different phases and sections between 2011 and 2014 as the city underwent a major revitalization project. While this latest closure is hurting business operators, many credit the city with working round- the-clock to get the job done.
“They are here every morning and keep me up to date with what is happening, it is first class,” says Sloan.
The city is hoping to have the street fully re-opened by July 1. Landscaping work may continue after that.
Comments