SHORT NORTH
scores of orange-and-white barriers, the noise. In front of the Red Giraffe at 847 N. High St., crews were jackhammering trenches in the sidewalk this week to lay electrical and lighting conduits. It was not the most pleasant environment.
Betsy Pandora, executive director of the Short North Alliance, said she has been hearing about how businesses are being affected by the construction and other factors.
“The extreme weather in January, along with some holiday shopping season fatigue, certainly did not make for an easy start to the year for many businesses,” she wrote in an email.
Pandora said her group has told the city that it is critical to coordinate public and private projects, so Short North shoppers have access to businesses and parking in the year ahead.
“While we understand construction conditions are quickly evolving even as we speak, it should never be the case that someone is so challenged by construction that it impacts their ability to do business,” Pandora wrote in an email.
“Going forward, we trust that the city of Columbus will follow through with its commitment to help the Short North Arts District business community maintain operations at all times.”
Jeff Ortega, a spokesman for the Columbus Department of Public Service, said the public improvements, which will include wider sidewalks and better lighting, will make the area safer and more walkable. He said the city’s two biggest priorities during construction are keeping pedestrians safe and maintaining access to buildings. He also said the city is keeping businesses up-todate on the work.
Ortega said the current phase will be done by March 24, with the next phase starting in April and finishing in November, before the next holiday shopping season.
“Construction’s messy,” Ortega said. “It’s a dense urban area. There’s a limited amount of space.”
The streetscape work should be finished in 2019.
Dawn McCombs wishes it were sooner. She has owned Glean, another North High Street store that sells jewelry, candles and bath and body products, for 4½ years.
She was counting on Valentine’s Day week to be a big one after a January lull.
Instead, she was greeted with some slow days because of the construction outside her door.
McCombs opened her store from just 2 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday. She said she didn’t have a single customer. Who’s going to walk in with a backhoe and truck outside and a plank leading to her door?
“No one’s out there,” she said.