The South Okanagan Chamber of Commerce hopes to turn the Fairview Road construction project into a positive experience for businesses this summer. (Lyonel Doherty photo)
Hey, let’s all go for a haircut.
The South Okanagan Chamber of Commerce is thinking of ways to offset the impact of construction on Fairview Road businesses, while promoting the area at the same time.
Recently, David Badger from Medici’s Gelateria expressed concerns about the negative impact that Fairview Road upgrades are having on his business this summer.
Executive director Denise Blashko wrote a letter to Town council with ideas on how to address the concerns. She suggested businesses communicate with their customers about the construction work and look at doing some cross promotions to create incentives for people to stop in. For example, Medici’s can pass out coupons for InnerVisions hair salon, and the salon can pass out coupons for Medici’s.
Blashko said she will stay connected with the Town to find out when major work or closures are happening on Fairview Road.
She noted that members of the chamber and council can meet on one of those days.
“I know I need a haircut soon – we could all book a haircut on the same day and use it as a fun promotion piece for all of us.”
Blashko even suggested that a “flash mob” might be a fun way of building up the community since everyone will have challenges with the roadwork.
She asked the Town if it would host a free coffee morning at Medici’s to brainstorm some ideas.
Chamber president Corrie Adolph said they are happy to see Fairview Road getting improvements, but are concerned with the timing of the project and its impacts on business.
She requested that the Town explore signage for the duration of the project to indicate that businesses are still open and where alternate parking is available.
In the meantime, Badger is encouraging his customers to park anywhere they can – in the back alley and even on the front lawn if necessary.
“As for Medici’s, we’re trying to cope with it the best we can.”
Badger said the construction work has restricted traffic on Fairview Road.
“For the entire day and many days we’ve been restricted to one lane coming up from the corner down by 7-Eleven, so that’s kind of a deterrent to tourist traffic.”
But he noted the big impact is coming in August when crews are going to repave the entire road, from the archives all the way up past the high school. That means the street will be closed down for at least a week, he pointed out.
But the Town of Oliver says the north side of Fairview Road should be open for business access during most of the project’s timeline.
Mayor Ron Hovanes previously stated the upgrades will benefit Fairview Road businesses in the long run.
LYONEL DOHERTY
Oliver Chronicle
