Merchants plead for help on downtown Oakdale block torn up for streetscape project
Business has been tougher than expected during a streetscape project in downtown Oakdale.
The work has closed motor vehicle access to the 100 block of North Third Avenue since mid-May. Pedestrians can reach most of the businesses only on narrow sidewalks between the storefronts and construction fencing.
The oldest shop on the block, the Moss Rose Bakery, has closed for the duration of the project, possibly until September. Other merchants hope to muddle through until the upgrades are done. They will include brick pavers, landscaping, benches and other touches.
Business owners and Oakdale officials discussed possible solutions Tuesday evening at the House of Beef restaurant, just outside the project area.
Some merchants urged easing of the parking restrictions on nearby blocks, most of them with two-hour limits. Some wondered if the city could help them financially. And many asked for better advertising of the fact that they are still in business.
“There’s no good information out there to say it’s open,” Moss Rose owner Randy Raduechel said.
His daily customer count dropped from about 150 to 40 once the project started, prompting him to close as of Monday, June 20. “I can’t stay in business with that,” he said.
Raduechel also is a Modesto police officer, but five bakery employees will be off for several weeks. He is the great-grandson of Moss Rose founder Joe Taboada. The business has operated since 1904 in a brick building typical of Oakdale’s early decades.
Sixteen businesses in all
The block is home to 16 businesses in all. It has four boutiques, two hair salons, a dry cleaner, a jeweler, a frame shop, a real estate agent, an air conditioning contractor and a bank. Various fare can be had at Roberts Ferry Gourmet, the Redwood Cafe and Suzey Belen’s Mexican Food & Bar.
United Pavement Maintenance, based in Hughson, is doing the project on a $2.42 million contract with the city. A mix of local and federal money is paying for it.
City Manager Bryan Whitemyer said he would look into the suggestions for better signs and looser parking enforcement. But he cautioned that using taxpayer money to help the businesses get by would set a precedent for future disruptive projects.
The block is just north of F Street, the heart of downtown, and was thriving long before the streetscape project. The city staff planned it over five years, including numerous meetings with the merchants.
Crews have removed the old asphalt roadway and are replacing water and sewer lines. They will later lay decorative brick pavers in place of the asphalt and redo the concrete sidewalks.
The sidewalks will bulb out at the north end of the block to ease crossing of E Street. A midblock pedestrian crossing will be built, too. A steel arch bearing the words “Downtown Oakdale” will stretch across E.
The block already had temporary barriers that encouraged outdoor dining amid COVID-19. The project aims to make this a long-term attraction.
Two boutiques merge
Moss Rose so far is the only business to close. The MadMack Boutique has moved its wares into the nearby Boutiques at Tiffany’s for the time being.
“Road construction cannot ruin summer deals!” said a recent Facebook post by the latter.
Some of the business buildings are along North Third but have entrances on other streets where pedestrian access is not so tricky. The owners nonetheless said the tight parking is a problem.
Patrons of Blown Away Salon have found parking tickets left on their cars while they waited for their hairdos to set, manager Tilla Marin said.
“We’re losing customers because they don’t want to come and get a ticket, or they don’t want to come because the parking is horrible,” she said.
Several people suggested using social media to inform customers about how to navigate the construction zone. They also said banners and billboards could attract both locals and the many tourists passing through town on their way to the Sierra Nevada.
Businesses also can benefit from RAD (Relief Across Downtown) cards, a pandemic-era program that pays half the cost of shopping and dining. Oakdale is no longer pumping federal relief money into this, but card holders might have some value left in their accounts.
The city is funding part of the streetscape project with a separate $1 million in federal pandemic money. Another $366,329 is from Oakdale’s share of fuel taxes. The remaining $1.06 million is from separate funds devoted to repair of water lines, sewer lines and streets.
