Jul. 8—MORGANTOWN — Walnut Street business owners Stephanie Swaim and Grace Hutchens knew there would be some short-term discomfort that came along with the progress promised by the Walnut Street Streetscape project.
The temporary loss of sidewalk access, bagged and blocked on-street parking spaces and closed travel lanes would certainly be barriers for would-be customers, but only briefly, and the end result would be worth it.
The $1.2 million overhaul promises a fresh look and plenty of new lighting for part of a downtown thoroughfare that has, at times, seemed run-down and dark.
But the construction that began in February has been sitting idle for months now, raising questions about just how short-term the inconveniences will ultimately be.
Hutchens is the proprietor of Blue Moose Coffeehouse, located on the corner of Spruce and Walnut streets, at 248 Walnut.
The work hasn’t even made it to her side of the street yet, but the disruption is already evident in the business’s bottom line.
“Monetarily, absolutely. Multiple thousands of dollars down in sales for the month of June, which has been the most noticeable month so far, ” Hutchens said when asked if the stalled construction is impacting business. “What we’re missing, you know, being a coffee shop is we’re missing the people stopping in the morning, running in, grabbing a coffee quick and running out on the way to work. We thankfully have those couple 10-minute free parking spots right outside, and those generate a good amount of business in the mornings, and all day, really. It’s conducive to our type of business, but that business is all gone now because it’s car-based.”
Meanwhile, directly across the street on the other corner of Spruce and Walnut, Swaim operates Hoot and Howl and an attached plant shop, Euphorbia.
Swaim said her year-to-date sales are well behind last year’s pace despite the use of sidewalk wayfinders and flags to help ensure any passers-by the shop is open.
“Once the project began, the crew working immediately took away all parking on our block and began chipping away on the opposite corner of my shop. They made it halfway down and seemingly abandoned the project altogether, leaving fencing, barricades, cones, sandbags, and a port-a-john in front of, and adjacent to, my shop, ” Swaim said. “Their work immediately affected our customer traffic.”
In February, the West Virginia Division of Highways predicted the work—extensive lighting upgrades, new sidewalks and pedestrian improvements and a full asphalt overlay for one block of Walnut between Spruce and High streets—would likely stretch into “late summer.”
In early June, well over a month after work was halted, the DOH explained contractor Blue Gold Development ran into unforeseen issues with at least two of the vaults that extend from the buildings out below the sidewalks. Even so, progress was expected to resume in a matter of days and a completion timeline of mid-August was provided. At the time, a DOH spokesperson noted, “The project must be completed before school begins.”
On July 1, the DOH said conflicts between the planned work and existing facilities in the vaulted areas were still being resolved by the city, property owners and project designer. Once again, the state said work was anticipated to resume “within the next week or so ” with a goal of completion by mid to late August.
Both Swaim and Hutchens say they’re among the project’s biggest supporters, but they’ve been left frustrated by a lack of communication and months of apparent inaction while the DOH and the contractor sort out who’s responsible for what and businesses scramble to deal with the consequences.
Swaim said the only time anyone gets any information is when they go to the city for updates on the state’s project. She said the most common response is that everyone is working to get back on site as soon as possible.
“Yet, here we are. Over three months without any active work. I have suggested moving on with the project because apparently, the vaults beneath the remainder of my side of the street are causing the holdup. But I was told it would cost too much money for them to move their barricades and fence, ” Swaim said. “Every weekend, after a busy downtown night, many of these are moved around by bar patrons and left for me to tidy up and move back.”
Both women have asked why concessions couldn’t have been offered during this lengthy work stoppage.
“We have different ideas of how they could maybe progress. Like moving the concrete barrier completely over and just losing parking on one side of the street and giving us parking back on the other side. Or, just moving the project over to the Blue Moose side and at least get that side done now instead of doing nothing. Because not only have we been sitting here losing parking for no apparent reason, we’ll have to wait even more when they make it over to do our side of the street, ” Hutchens said. “That’s the most frustrating part, I think, is just the total inaction on any part, whatsoever.”