For drivers, traveling down Lincoln Avenue for the past year has been an obstacle course of construction detours. For businesses like Island Savoy Market and Craft-Chocolate, that road work has translated into slow sales and the loss of customers.
Ashley Rogers, co-owner of Island Savoy with her husband Mike Stevens, told the Alameda Post that the construction, mostly involving PG&E upgrading gas lines underneath the street, had caused traffic disruptions and lack of street parking, which in turn has made it harder for customers to come to the market, deli, and coffee shop.
“There’s this string of different projects, but the most recent—and the one that has lasted the longest—is work by PG&E,” explained Rogers.
With street parking spots unavailable while the work is being done, customers have had a difficult time coming to Island Savoy. Rogers has seen enough of a dip in business to suspect that customers are just opting not to come. “What we have observed anecdotally is a 25-35% drop in sales,” she said…