Gray St businesses hit hard
For Knysna businesses adversely affected by the Gray Street upgrades, this year has presented a double blow in the form of Covid-19.
Despite the upgrades remaining on schedule according to project managers, businesses in the area have been suffering with some having to close and others reporting large losses in income.
A major artery at the heart of Knysna's CBD, Gray Steet has undergone a few face-lifts over the years, ranging from the upgrading of the pipe network to simple resurfacing.
While a business such as Laundry Girls budgeted for the inevitable loss of income it expected as part of the latest Gray Street upgrades, it did not factor in that a virus would tip the scale to the point where they would have to close down. "Based on how much we suffered the last time they dug up the road, I put aside money that would help keep me afloat during the upgrades to the street," said Corrie Hiemstra, former owner of the now-closed Laundry Girls, which she operated for the last 14 years. "Covid-19 came and I had to allocate those savings to the lockdown losses. But, even after we opened again, people couldn't access my shop and I lost even more money so I was forced to close down."
Another affected business is Knysna Locksmiths that, according to owner Quintin Brand, has seen a substantial drop in walkin customers in the past few weeks. "Walk-in customers make up between 30 and 40% of my turnover, and even when compared to the numbers we've seen during lockdown, we've had a 50% drop since they started work on our section of Gray Street," Brand said. He added that he feels the municipality has not done enough with regard to communicating with businesses, and that there should have been more effort on their part.
The municipality feels differently, however. "Many consultation meetings took place to ensure that all stakeholders were brought into the project. All the factors concerned were workshopped and addressed during these consultation processes," said municipal spokesperson Nwabisa Pondoyi. Project manager of the Gray Street upgrades Aubrey Tlhale stated that the project is back on schedule now, with Block A (Waterfront Drive to Gordon Street) a "week or two" away from completion after they experienced a delay with paving supplies. "It wasn't available at the time due to restrictions, but it has been ordered and we are back on track again," he said.