The Strange Things that Sometimes Cause us to Feel a Great Sense of Relief

denmarkguy (76) in life • 7 years ago

The photo here shows a picture — from this afternoon — of the main street here in our little town of Port Townsend, Washington.

Maybe it doesn't seem that unusual, but it's significant.

The road construction project you can see in progress has been going on since the beginning of January, and has been far more elaborate than the image might immediately suggest.

The sidewalks were completely torn up, extensive trenching on the street was done to replace aging sewers and other infrastructure and the whole thing is part of a greater "Downtown Beautification Project."

"So what?" you might be asking.

Well, Mrs. Denmarkguy and I derive a good bit of our living from a small independent art gallery we're the proprietors of. It is located more or less immediately to the RIGHT of that orange "BUSINESSES OPEN DURING CONSTRUCTION" sign.

Having a major construction project at your front door for almost five months — when you're a retail establishment — can put a serious dent in your business. Especially when said project also removes all on-street parking normally used by your potential customers.

Suffice it to say that we essentially lost somewhat more than HALF our normal business volume since the end of the year.

And so — to get back to the significance of the title of this post — we are feeling a great sense of relief at seeing the street finally being repaved after all the digging and disruption. By this time next week, or little main street should once again be "normal" and people will be able to both drive and park!

As for the "beautification" part of the equation, that's in the eye of the beholder. Personally? I'm skeptical.

Before this all started, we had 75-year old trees lining the street; those have all been cut down. It looks rather "naked" now. What they plan to do to return our rather quirky "historical and old" appearance, I don't know. But we're keeping an open mind.

For now, we're just celebrating at least the POSSIBILITY that we will soon be back to normal!

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7 years ago by denmarkguy (76)

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onceuponatime (72) · 7 years ago

Will you now have more, or less, free time now that the construction is over?

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denmarkguy (76) · 7 years ago

Ah yes, "free" time. In theory I should have more because I won't be spending as much time working my eBay and online stores to make up for the loss of income due to the construction.

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gillianpearce (65) · 7 years ago

I find it hard to believe that any beautification of a street can include cutting down 74 year old trees @denmarkguy. Doesn't work for me! I liked the quirkiness of the old town although i get that sometimes the infrastructure needs to be updated.

Glad to hear access to your business will be back to normal for the summer. Fingers crossed it will be a bumper one to make up for your winter losses. 😊

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denmarkguy (76) · 7 years ago

I sometimes struggle with the idea of "progress." Or, as a friend remarked a while back "Progress is a one-word oxymoron."

But at least we're hopeful our customers will soon return.

Progress? Judge for yourself-- similar view from last fall:

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gillianpearce (65) · 7 years ago

That is so not progress to me. More like a crime! 😢

Fingers crossed your customers are on their way as we speak.

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phoenixwren (65) · 7 years ago

Oh, man. Yay that it's almost done, yay to fixed sewers, but BOO to cutting down trees and all your lost income! They've done a lot of this kind of work the past few years in my neighborhood, too - including the cutting down of trees for no reason 😤. The way that the construction has (nearly) finished on that section of street, the trees could have stayed put! Raaaawr. Ntm, we were supposed to get back the closed bus stop last year, and still, no bus stop. Sigh.

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denmarkguy (76) · 7 years ago

Whereas I recognize that some of the old plumbing, sewers and wiring were in desperate need up updating, sometimes these projects feel more like "make-busy" projects than essential infrastructure improvements. And this was rather a "hurry-up job" because the window for a Federal funding grant was only January 1st to June 30th.

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phoenixwren (65) · 7 years ago

I understand. On my street, we really did need a sewer fix, because every time it rained, we had flooding. But the tree cutting down the way was more of a "construction crews didn't want to work around them" which made me mad. They are killing more really old trees in CITY PARK for making a flood sink for a highway expansion nobody wants through an already poor neighborhood, while we already have gentrification galore and so there's nowhere for them to go in addition. The mayor INSISTED he wasn't going for an Olympics bid (that nobody wants), but, lo, now he is and the highway expansion was I guess part of that plan (got to have a bigger highway running from Denver to the mountains for snow sports).
Meanwhile, more and more people are being priced out of the city and they keep building "luxury" condos and apartments that REMAIN EMPTY while our homeless population soars because no one can afford them. But oh, they made ten "affordable" units that wouldn't have been affordable when I had my best paying job ever, so aren't they responsible developers? More tax breaks for them!
...sorry, I'm mental guillotine-ing again. ;)

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jackpot (57) · 7 years ago

So sorry that you had to suffer lost of business due to unforseen circumstances. Not sure if you can claim some relief from the government since it can be proven the lost of business. I have heard of compensations from building landlord when tenants are affected. Normally these are covered by insurances taken up by the landlord.
Anyway glad that the worst is over and your business should pick up. All the best and Good Luck. God Bless
@jackpot

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denmarkguy (76) · 7 years ago

I'm afraid there is no help forthcoming from outside sources, although the landlord has been somewhat sympathetic towards rent payments being a little late, a couple of times.

We're just relieved to be able to go back to some sense of normalcy, soon.

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cryptotem (63) · 7 years ago

That does not sound like fun months. I hope everything returns back to normal soon and that somehow the new street attracts even more people than before to your gallery!

Cheers!

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denmarkguy (76) · 7 years ago

We try to take it all in stride as best we can, but a "positive attitude" will only take you so far... and it doesn't get you very far when the landlord demands rent payment!

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robertandrew (67) · 7 years ago

So sad about those trees. I am a tree lover and the more the better.

But it is good to hear your art galley will get back to normal business :)
Thanks for sharing Mr. Denmarkguy ;)

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denmarkguy (76) · 7 years ago

We were definitely VERY sad to see those trees cut down. Seemed so unnecessary... all in the name of "progress."

Thanks for the good wishes!

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eroche (67) · 7 years ago

Wow it will be a big relief to see the back of that construction. On the bright side it was only 5 months, not years.

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denmarkguy (76) · 7 years ago

Definitely a relief that the end is in sight. I had a previous business where we were behind construction barriers for almost three years.

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alignment (49) · 7 years ago

Hello @denmarkguy. Every construction project should have accurate schedule. If the delay was unjustified and affected your business you can file the construction company for a compensation.