Small business owners on 13th and Alder say they are seeing a drastic drop in business after changes to foot traffic and parking in front of their businesses happened around mid December.
EUGENE, Ore. – Small business owners on 13th and Alder say they are seeing a drastic drop in business after changes to foot traffic and parking in front of their businesses happened around mid December.
“Me, myself, I’ve seen anywhere from 75% to 100% drop in sales,” Sai Pituk, chef owner of Cluckin’ Dog said. “[Thursday] night is a perfect example of that. Compared to our normal Thursday night, I had a 100% drop in sales.”
Construction in the area is slated to be complete in 20 months, but owners say they were not given a notice of the upcoming changes.
“We were not given proper communication, so we weren’t able to plan,” Pituk said.
Concrete barriers put up in front of small businesses between 12th and 13th street on Alder have taken away parking spots from potential customers, which owners say is directly affecting the money they’re bringing in.
“I feel like the math is very simple,” Pituk said. “You take away parking, right? No parking, no people, no revenue. It’s honestly just that simple.”
Owners on the block say they’ve lost between 40-100 parking spots and only one 30-minute parking spot for delivery drivers in front of their business.
The loss of parking doesn’t just affect customers, but the workers as well. Since they have continuously pay for meter parking throughout their shifts if they want to avoid getting a ticket.
So owners went to the City of Eugene and University of Oregon with their concerns.
“They weren’t aware of the issues that this kind of construction can bring to the local businesses,” Josh Zweifler, owner of Sy’s Pizza, said. “And unfortunately, what happens is a lot of businesses that go through something like this will kind of just sit back … that’s why we’ve banded together the owners of all these businesses and where we’re working to mitigate all these issues.”
The only parking spot available in front of businesses between 12th and 13th street on Alder is a 30 minute parking spot for delivery drivers.
Accommodations are being made for the local businesses here on 13th and older as the university is allowing business to use some parking spots.
“University parking lots are available to people without parking permits on weekends or after 6 p.m.[during weekdays],” Associate Director of Transportation Services, James McGladrey said. “So people are welcome to come and use our parking lots to visit some of these local businesses.”
And Hyland Construction is allowing the small businesses to put up signage of their fencing to promote businesses, and are even paying for the signage themselves.
But if businesses continue to lose profit at the rate they have been this past month, some say they may have to close for good.
“If I do not make at least what I made last year during the same time, we’re going to be shut down in three months,” Pituk said.
So the small business owners are also asking the community to stop by and check out the local shops and food.
“Give us a chance,” Zweifler said. “Come down once every two months, a few times a year. That’s all it takes, and we’re not asking for anything really special.”