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Own a business on 19th Avenue between Bethany Home Road and Dunlap Avenue?
Well for the next 4 years you can count on the city of Phoenix to drive away your business while they extend the $2 billion+ light rail boondoggle from Christown Mall or Spectrum Mall out to Metro Center Mall. Valley Metro and the idiots that run the Phoenix government will drive a good number of businesses along 19th Avenue out of business by driving away a large amount of their business with the light rail construction. 19th Ave. businesses in Phoenix await invasion by rail Michael Schennum/The Republic By Dustin Gardiner The Republic | azcentral.com Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:37 PM Physician Graviola Brooks-Martinez is so concerned that light-rail construction in north-central Phoenix will hurt business that she’s delaying hiring another doctor to join her pediatric practice. Like many small-business owners along the 19th Avenue corridor, Brooks-Martinez said she’s worried that three years of torn-up asphalt and traffic restrictions will drive away customers. She said several other doctors in her building are even considering moving out of the area. “I’m afraid that I’m going to lose patients,” Brooks-Martinez said Tuesday night as she left a neighborhood meeting on the upcoming project. “Those are my fears. Maybe it won’t happen.” Early next year, Phoenix and Valley Metro, the region’s mass transit agency, will break ground on the first phase of the northwest light-rail extension, a 3.2-mile expansion from Montebello to Dunlap avenues. Officials expect to complete the project by early 2016. While business owners acknowledge the potential long-term benefits of light rail — increased foot traffic and rising property values — they’re anxious about the impacts of years of construction. Several said their primary fear is a lack of accessibility for drivers used to frequenting shops along the busy street. The city will squeeze traffic along 19th Avenue to one lane in each direction. About 300 businesses are located directly along the future rail line, ranging from sleek medical offices to run-down shopping centers. City, transit officials offer help But city and Valley Metro officials said they’re stepping up to make the process as hassle-free as possible for businesses and customers. The two agencies have pledged a combined $1.7 million to fund assistance efforts meant to help business owners weather construction. Rather than giving business owners small grants to temporarily offset their losses, the money will provide tools to grow and enhance their enterprises in the coming years. For example, Phoenix provides business owners with consulting and marketing services, such as website redesign and financial planning. Other types of assistance are aimed at addressing traffic congestion and construction issues. The city will appoint an access coordinator and Valley Metro will produce roadside signs for each business. Problems with accessibility for motorists is the foremost concern for small-business owners in an older strip mall near Northern and 19th avenues. The center of roughly 15 shops has one narrow entrance near the future site of a light-rail station. Ana Berzan, owner of De La Ana European Delicatessen, said she’s worried that news of the construction will deter customers, many of them Romanian immigrants living in the West Valley, from driving to Phoenix to buy her specialty sausages and cured herring. “It’s not going to be easy for people to get to this plaza,” Berzan said. “I really, really don’t know what to think about it.” A few storefronts down from the deli, florist Tony Medlock, who has owned PJ’s Flowers and Gifts for 16 years, worries that decreased traffic during construction will hurt his walk-in sales on holidays like Valentine’s Day. However, he sees a silver lining to the expansion. “I think once construction is completed, it will benefit our business,” Medlock said. “We’ll be able to survive.” Phoenix officials have stressed that the city will regularly communicate with business owners, looking for creative solutions to a myriad of construction headaches. Lessons learned The outreach is similar to what officials offered to businesses during the construction of the original 20-mile rail line that opened in December 2008, with a few tweaks. Assistance will be more flexible this time, allowing consultants to tailor their services to individual needs. “Certainly, we’ve learned a lot from building the 20-mile line,” said Hillary Foose, a spokeswoman for Valley Metro. “We’ll move and bend depending on what the business community’s needs are. They are assets to the future light-rail line.” Lynn and Kathleen Courter, owners of The Original Wineburger restaurant near 19th Avenue and Bethany Home Road, met this week with a Valley Metro representative to discuss ways of combating a potential slowdown. The couple are optimistic that their flavorful burgers, cooked with a splash of sangria, will continue to lure diners. “We want to stick this out,” Kathleen Courter said, adding that the public must keep coming to the area for businesses to survive. “Obviously, we need help.” ------------------ By the numbers Cost to build: Estimated $300 million from city and county sales-tax revenue. Length of rail extension: 3.2 miles. Number of stations: Three (Glendale, Northern, Dunlap avenues). Construction begins: Jan. 12. Construction ends: Early 2016. Cost of operation: Estimated $4 million annually from fares and city funds. Projected ridership: 5,000 per day. Source: Valley Metro. |