Merchants Blame Business Dive on Park Street Project
 Park Street proprietors say business has dropped off dramatically because of the streetscape project construction. |
ADAMS, Mass. — Park Street business owners say business has dramatically slowed since the streetscape construction began at the end of July.
Residents and business owners met with interim Town Administrator Donna Cesan, representatives from contractor J.H. Maxymillian, and project engineer David Loring of Tighe & Bond on Tuesday night to discuss the current status of the street's overhaul.
AnnMarie Belmonte from Izzy's Diner & Pizza said the diner has seen significant changes in business midway in the project.
"Our loss of business has been astronomical," Belmonte said. "We had to cut hours, we had to lay people off, and we had to struggle with working 100 hours a week to try to make up for the loss of customers because people don't want to come into this mess."
Belmonte attributed the lack of business to the shortage of parking spaces and incomplete sidewalks.
Loring said equipment sometimes has to be left on a parking spot to protect a construction area and to create speedier production.
Selectman Jeffrey Snoonian said he thinks some of the spots are being used by construction workers' personal vehicles.
"There are a lot of employee vehicles I see parked, and ... there are definitely parking spots taken up where there is no work being performed," Snoonian said. "It seems like you are using too many spots every day that aren't being used."
Cesan agreed and said they will be mindful of it.
Belmonte said there needs to be better communication and attention to parking or many of the businesses will be in trouble.
"There is no way that two haircuts a day can pay the bills, two tans can pay the bills, or only making $6.91 for breakfast, who can I pay with that?" she said. "Those are the things you need to hear the reality of, and you are going to have the prettiest street running through a ghost town if something doesn't change."
Some business owners said they feared the implementation of bumpouts that ensure safer pedestrian crossing because they will eliminate parking spaces.
Cesan said the bumpouts have been openly discussed during many public meetings and they are a must for downtown Adams.
"We have to create a conducive downtown for pedestrians, and we don't have that now and we haven't had that in many years," she said. "I'm afraid to cross the street — you aren't visible and people go fast."
She said the town is aware of the limited parking on Park Street and is looking for solutions. She also said enforcement issues will be addressed and police will be more vigilant when looking for unpaid meters.
Despite the issues with parking and business, business owners agreed the construction workers have been great.
"The guys that work the street have been great. We have nothing bad to say about them," Belmonte said. "They have been very informative, they come in and tell us what is going on."
Although much of the meeting addressed issues with the project, Loring said it is on schedule and should be complete before Thanksgiving.
He said the "difficult, dirtiest, destructive and loud" underground infrastructure work is almost complete.
The few delays have come from unforeseen underground infrastructure found when replacing sewer lines and fixing drainage issues.
"We encountered many underground surprises," Loring said. "Pipes not connecting to structures where our survey indicated they did and, in general, some undersized poor-conditioned buried infrastructure."
Loring said the next sequence of the project is the sidewalks that will be ripped out and replaced.
He said they will try to work with businesses on Park Street to lower the impact of construction. He added the process should take two to three weeks.
The final sequence of the project is the milling and repaving of the road. He said it would not take long, but would be the most destructive. He suggested that businesses close for a few hours during the process.
Another public meeting will be held before the project is completed.
Tags: construction, construction complaints, Park Street, road work, streetscape,
