Shores merchants hit hard by ongoing construction of the Avenida de la Playa Infrastructure Replacement and Sewer & Water Group projects are hoping — and planning — for business to return to normal after Memorial Day once work is complete. But it’s been an agonizing experience for some whose business has plummeted due to noise, dirt and dislocation caused by the infrastructure replacement projects, which began a week after Labor Day. Shops along Avenida de la Playa are currently experiencing the worst of it, with trenching and heavy equipment operating literally right outside their doors on the Shores commercial strip. How bad is it? “Right now, it’s right there,” said Terry Kraszewski, owner of Surf Angel boutique, pointing out the window of Piatti restaurant to a huge earthmover scooping dirt out of the center of Avenida for trenching. “The first of February, they’re supposed to be off our block,” said Tom Spano, Piatti’s general manager. “The work needs to be done but the disruption has been terrible,” noted Barbara Beltaire, CEO of Barbarella restaurant. “The noise, the dirt, the dust: During the day, it’s a problem.” The extent to which the merchants are being affected depends a lot on exactly where they are. “My lunch business is down, but my dinner business is absolutely fine,” said Spano. Christian Malecot, of French restaurant Solange, hasn’t been so lucky. He’s been forced to close, except for weekends, until construction is finished. “I’m losing less money being closed than if I were open,” he noted. Malecot’s coping with the situation. “I’m just trying to make the best of it,” he said, “make little changes, like moving the bakery over to the bar area to allow us to have more indoor seating.” One thing Malecot’s learned from the infrastructure replacement project is that “It’s impossible to make a schedule for construction and stick to it.” “Our goal is to finish this project before the summer construction moratorium which begins on May 22,” said Monica Munoz, city of San Diego spokesperson. Munoz noted up to 800 linear feet of an eight-foot water main replacement (about two blocks) has to be replaced eventually because “it’s so old we decided to do it all at once versus coming back later to replace the main in those two blocks.” Munoz said the original idea was to rehabilitate the existing ten-foot sewer main. “But because of the poor condition of the pipe, we will open a trench and replace the pipe, which means about 1,900 linear feet of open trench,” she explained. “This method obviously takes more time than rehabilitating the pipe without opening a trench. This portion includes sewer laterals.” There are other complicating factors with the construction project as well, such as archaeological monitoring, which, Munoz said, means “the archaeo contractor is hand digging. This slows down the project somewhat, as they have to investigate what is being dug up. At any time, if anything significant is found, the project will be halted.”
Shores merchants sat at Piatti’s one recent morning brainstorming ideas about what can — and should — be done to help businesses get through the ordeal. For one, merchants have jointly determined that signage in the business district needs to be improved.
“It’s a big issue with (some improperly placed) signs saying ‘Road Closed,'” noted Beltaire. “The ‘Go Visit the Merchants’ signs were not visible,” agreed Kraszewski. “It was two blocks down that way (gesturing).” “(Better) signage would really help,” concurred Coco Tihanyi of Surf Diva. “We should be lobbying for the city to do beautification and safety (enhancement) on the street. It’s something they should do for us.” Business owners are concerned about how the construction job will be finished. “We’re lobbying for improvements, for them to leave it (street) nicer than it was before,” said Kraszewski. “They (city) told us at the last meeting that when they’re done, they’re going to resurface the street,” said Beltaire. “That was a revelation,” agreed Kraszewski. “It will affect all the surrounding streets. We all want that. We want an upgrade.” Shores merchants are considering launching some king of publicity campaign to announce that the construction project is finished once and for all. “We’re thinking of having a spring festival or a kick-off for summer or a welcome back or something,” said Kraszewski, adding “It’s cool that, at the end, the street is going to be more vibrant. It’s kind of exciting.”