Syracuse’s South Clinton Street has finally been converted into a two-way street. Owners of businesses on the street have differing expectations of how the reconstruction will affect their sales.
Transcript
Rebecca Clyde: Business owners on South Clinton Street have mixed opinions about the road’s conversion to a two-way street. Salt City Market manager Adam Sudmann says the new road will help with a lot, even reducing crime.
Adam Sudmann: Having more traffic around this entire building is super healthy for business, it’s super healthy, to like, have more traffic back there to dissuade some of the bad behavior we’ve seen.
Rebecca Clyde: Other businesses, like DP Dough Boy, are less convinced. The general manager of the pizza shop, Adam Patterson, says it won’t make much of an impact because most of his customers are on foot.
Adam Patterson: It’s more of a bar scene. And people are just coming out to literally go to the bar, and when they’re done drinking, they’re like, ‘I’m hungry.’
Rebecca Clyde: According to the city’s website, the project was done to better connect the business district to neighborhoods and improve safety. Rebecca Clyde, NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Businesses on South Clinton Street have mixed opinions about the road’s recent conversion to a two-way street.
Adam Sudmann, manager of Salt City Market, said he’s excited for how the construction will improve his business and the individual vendors that are in the market.
Sudmann thinks the construction is not only helpful for local shops, but also for reducing crime.
Sudmann said, “Having more traffic around this entire building is super healthy for business, it’s super healthy to have more traffic back there to dissuade some of the bad behavior we’ve seen.”
Salt City Market has a mural on one of its walls representing its goal to help new businesses grow.
On the other hand, some businesses don’t think the construction will do much for their sales.
Adam Patterson, general manager of DP Dough Boy, thinks the project won’t make much of a difference because the area is more of a bar scene. He said most of his customers aren’t driving.
“You make it a two way street, you make it a one way street, it’s not going to really affect how it’s going to accommodate the businesses,” Patterson said.
According to the city’s website, Mayor Ben Walsh has two goals for the project. He wants to make the street safer for pedestrians and drivers. He also wants to connect the business district with Syracuse neighborhoods.
The street’s construction also included restriped crosswalks and the addition of bike lanes.
The project is part of Mayor Walsh’s commitment to making Syracuse a safer city through his Vision Zero initiative.