Merchants Weigh In On Bayshore Construction Project

If you’ve been in downtown Safety Harbor in the last few days, or work in the area, you know all about the that has part of Bayshore Boulevard blocked off. 

But rather than gripe about the inconvenience of having to detour around commonly travelled roads, merchants are dealing with the work the best way they can — with optimism. 

“It’s a little bit of an inconvenience, but I’ll be fine,” said Dee Dokumaci, owner of the Rose Garden Boutique on the corner of Main Street and Phillippe Parkway. 

“Right now I’m not too worried about it.” 

A little further up Main Street, some business owners are actually enjoying the congestion the detour has caused. 

It goes back to the old adage, more traffic, more business. 

“I think it actually might help business,” Bar Fly owner Jeff Harrell said. “It’s forcing people to go downtown, and when they’re stopped out front they can’t help but look around.” 

Bill Bailey, owner of the Main Street Market, concurred. 

“If it’s going to affect me it’s going to help me,” he said. People who don’t normally have to come through downtown now have to come downtown.”

But some of the opinions might change in the near future. 

After this part of the project, known as Phase I, is complete in about two weeks, Phase II will begin. That phase will close the entire section of Main Street south of Second Avenue all the way to the Safety Harbor Resort and Spa. 

That prospect has some merchants scrambling for ideas to keep business flowing in. 

“When construction out front starts in two weeks, I’m going to give people some kind of incentive to come in, like a discount on a minimum purchase,” Dokumaci said. “I’ve got to give them some reason to come here.”

Tiffany Wilder of Pick Your Poison Cupcake Café isn’t thrilled about the construction, but she’s thankful for the parking lot she has out back of her shop. 

“It’s hard enough to park along Main Street when there’s no construction going on, nevermind during this,” she said. “Luckily we have that lot out back, but I feel bad for the other businesses that don’t.” 

The good news is motorists are already getting used to the detours and the new four-way stop sign at the intersection of Main and Second Avenue; Pinellas County Sherriff’s deputies reportedly have had no accidents so far. 

“A few people are running the stop sign while talking on their cell phones,” Deputy Chuck Skipper said. “But that’s normal.”