Several businesses on Main Street lost revenue during the Main Street resurfacing project this fall. While the finished product looks great, it won’t bring back what some proprietors lost.
A swath of fresh, black asphalt painted with crisp white lines now cuts a gleaming path through downtown Oliver.
Visually it’s a striking improvement, and changes to the sidewalks will make the road safer, but for many downtown businesses the project has been a nightmare.
Cory Braun of the Rustic Barn said he lost significant business during the construction, and has yet to see his fortunes turn.
With streets closed and sidewalks inaccessible hardly anyone bothered showing up to shop. As the work went on he only bothered to open his doors on the weekends, because staying open during the week with no one coming in only meant losing money.
“When you’re open all day and you only get four people in a day, that’s pretty bad,” he said.
He said the loss of business is going to make getting through the winter tough, as the shoulder season is how he normally pads his bank account ahead of the slower winter months.
“I think it will be a while before I recoup.”
Leilani Exner of What the Funk is also still reeling from financial losses caused by the construction.
“If we make it through the winter we’re going to be lucky,” she said.
She said the past month has been “horrendous,” and that she had to shut her doors during the week to save money.
“With no one coming in how do you pay your bills, how do you pay your rent?” she asked.
As construction was ramping up earlier this month Mayor Ron Hovanes told the Chronicle “the disruption will be well worth the improved driving conditions.”
“I strongly believe that fresh, smooth pavement will be a huge downtown improvement,” he said.
But Exner said even with the project now essentially finished she still hasn’t seen business bounce back.
She said she hopes the new road means more customers in the long run, but isn’t convinced it will make much of a difference.
Braun is even less enthusiastic.
“I don’t see it making your business any better, no,” he said flatly.
But while business owners remain miffed, Oliver’s director of operations, Shawn Goodsell, said there’s no question the road is now safer.
“In the summer it can be chaotic (through Main Street), and we’re hoping changes to the sidewalk help,” he said.
Oliver has a history of accidents involving pedestrians, and last year an elderly woman died after being hit in downtown Oliver after crossing the main drag in November of 2014.
Goodsell said the 12 new “bump-outs” (curb extensions) at the School, Bank and Veterans Avenue intersections will make pedestrians much safer.
The extensions allow pedestrians to safely get further into the road—passed parked cars—before crossing the street. And the raised vantage point means better visibility both for them and drivers.
The bump-outs also serve to narrow the road, which means drivers will instinctively slow down.
“It also changes traffic behaviour in a positive way, because people can’t skirt around other traffic (at intersections), and they’re not supposed to do that,” he said.
He also hopes new lights will brighten things up a little, improving visibility during the winter months.
“People have had to endure a lot of traffic headaches lately, but it’s all for the greater good, hopefully,” he said.
By Trevor Nichols
