BOISE, Idaho — Numerous downtown road closures - manifested in a lack of available parking and normal pedestrian access - are impacting downtown Boise businesses and their bottom line.
Business owners understand the projects are a byproduct of a growing city with long-term benefits; however, the payment up front is steep.
"It is definitely measurable," Neckar Coffee Owner Grant Shealy said. "Our numbers are down this month specifically between 5 percent and 10 percent."
Shealy considers himself one of the lucky ones. His business's front door is not one of those on an immediate construction site; those stores are taking an even harder hit.
"When they got big equipment going, the building is shaking," Foot Dynamics Owner Kevin Chapman said. "This is our first year to date through April now, about the first quarter we are posting a year-to-date loss versus last year... But this is actually worse than Covid."
Construction projects have closed 11th Street and 10th Street between West Front Street and West Main Street, according to Ada County Highway District (ACHD). Multiple other roads on adjacent city blocks are closed to traffic as well.
Road closures make it hard for people to support these businesses, customers told KTVB - even for people that want to make an effort to visit the shops and stores.
"Yeah, I didn't wanna park over here, so I parked over on the other side of town and walked over. But I had the time. Not everyone has time to do that," Robin Donovan told KTVB after getting a coffee at Neckar.
"I've lived in a lot of different cities. I've never seen a city do [this many projects and closures] all at the same time," said Donovan.
Capital City Development Corp (CCDC) lists these projects on their website to explain the necessity of each construction zone and offer information about any changes and potential detours. The CCDC said that the Rebuild 11th Street project, for example, will replace underground infrastructure dating back to the 1950's.
The City of Boise has been in contact with business owners through meetings to discuss short-term and long-term solutions.
"As a response to frustrations with downtown parking, we’ve created a West End e-permit for downtown employees, changed some parking meters from 4-hour to 2-hour to increase parking opportunities for customers, and have increased parking enforcement," the City of Boise spokesperson wrote KTVB in a statement.
"We know that as we continue to see construction downtown, we’ll need a more permanent solution to protect both parking and sidewalk access for the people who live, work and play in our vibrant downtown," said city spokesperson.
Business owners, including Shealy and Chapman, agree with the city. They have not seen any solution provide the necessary relief that they need.
Shealy is concerned the window of opportunity and solution to the problem has already passed, as so many projects were granted the greenlight to build all at once.
"How to responsibly develop the city over the course of the next 5, 10, 15 years? I think that is the question," Shealy said.
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