How does construction on Howard's Street affect local businesses?

The four-way stop at the intersection of Howard and Depot Street. “Right now, if a big truck comes down [Howard Street], they can't turn left or right on Depot,” said Amy Forrester of Fizz Ed. “They have to go all the way across to Morel because of the big black metal poles that are out there. The truck tries to turn, and they hit it.” Photo credit: Qynn Klamborowski.

Jonah Pearson, Staff Writer for The Powderhorn

Visitors flock to the streets of downtown Boone to indulge in the novelties of every season. While this is great for the tourist-centered businesses in Boone, it results in high volumes of congestion and traffic during these times. To combat this issue the Town of Boone has recently focused on making corrections to the flow of traffic, allowing for more accessibility downtown. However, many businesses are being negatively impacted due to these changes in traffic flow. Howard Street in particular has felt these effects due to the recent one-way reconstruction of the road. 

 “We didn’t lose a lot of local customers during the construction. Visibility has been the biggest problem, getting it in front of people who have never been here before,” said Amy Forrester, the owner of Fizz Ed on Howard Street. “They’ve changed the way the road flows. And so when people drive by, they’re having a hard time figuring out how to get to us, which was not an issue before the construction”

For new customers, like tourists visiting for a short time who aren’t familiar with the area, the problem is the lack of visibility. People don’t know how to access Howard Street or are sometimes completely unaware of those businesses. But for now, these problems don’t just interfere with the businesses on Howard Street. Local residents are noticing the changes as well. 

“If you're leaving or entering through the front [of Fizz Ed], there are cars parked right outside, and sometimes people don't do a very good job parking,” said Giorgie Martinez, a sophomore at Watauga, who works at Fizz Ed as a dishwasher. “But I'm also having to walk through those cars if I’m trying to go across the street. So it just depends. I feel like there should just be more actual parking availability that isn't just on the road.” 

For right now, there is limited parking along the road, and the access to parking lots for businesses is not ideal. Parallel parking is provided on the left side of the street, which is difficult for drivers. Possible solutions to these problems are being discussed, but they will take time. 

Fizz Ed on Howard Street pictured above. Parallel parking is provided on the left, as seen in the photo, and is directly in front of Fizz Ed’s main entrance. Photo Credit: Qynn Klamborowski

“They could either flip the direction of the one-way so it flows this way, which would actually be more logical, because it almost feels like it was designed to flow that way,” said Forrester. “There are some smaller changes, like potentially moving the ‘do not enter’ sign back to where the bike rack is on the other side of the parking lot and widening the asphalt apron right there where it could be a 2-way.” 

The proposed solutions all involve changes to the traffic flow and possibly the design of the street. But parking and accessibility aren’t the only problems that came with the construction. The new fall weather along with heading into winter could expose more issues with the design. 

“Over the past couple of days, since it's been raining a lot, that street has just flooded. There's very little to no drainage on that street,” said Martinez. “So for people driving there when it's raining, it can get kind of difficult. One time I got off work, and I got picked up by a friend out front, and I had to walk through a solid two, three inches of water just to cross that road.”

However, the impacts of construction are not solely negative. Residents have noticed positive changes that affect not just traffic but the appearance. 

 “I would say the overall aesthetic of it now is just more appealing, because it just looks more refined,” said Martinez. “It looks newer. But in terms of practicality, I just don't know how much of a difference it really made. From my point of view, working at Fizz Ed, it seems like a lot of it was for aesthetics. It felt like they spent all this time and almost worked against the businesses on that road to try to make it look more appealing when the practicality of it didn't change that much.”

Businesses in Boone are finding it difficult to pinpoint what the construction prioritizes: the pedestrians and businesses in Boone or mainly aesthetics. Simultaneously the Town of Boone is also struggling with prioritizing the tourism industry while also benefiting businesses and pedestrians in Boone.

“I think that we more than likely have the resources to accommodate both. But are forcing ourselves into situations where we have to kind of pick and choose which one we want to prioritize,” said Martinez. “So, it's hard to say. I think for businesses, because it's a tourism centered town, parking for cars is definitely helpful, even if it's not right by where they're trying to go. So it's a little bit of a tough situation. I don't really know what the best answer is.”