AI-Summary – News For Tomorrow
Construction for a sewer separation project near Maple and 72nd Street is negatively impacting small businesses in Omaha’s Benson area, reducing vital foot traffic. Business owners like Laci Mulick of Found Vintage Market report difficulty for customers accessing their shops due to road closures, leading to decreased sales. While Wendy Pivonka of Legend Comics notes the economy also plays a role, she acknowledges the construction deters potential customers. The project’s current phase is projected to last until late 2026, causing ongoing concerns for Benson businesses reliant on easy accessibility.
News summary provided by Gemini AI.
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Construction work for the Omaha Streetcar project is having a crippling effect on some small business owners in the Midtown and Blackstone areas.
Now, there are some small business owners in the Benson area who are dealing with construction woes of their own.
Near Maple and 72nd Street – Benson’s main drag – sewer separation work shuts down traffic from the west. Some roads are also closed in the surrounding neighborhoods.
“Benson really depends on foot traffic,” said Laci Mulick, owner of Found Vintage Market.
She said all the construction work is reducing traffic in Benson’s business district, and that’s bad for her business.
She believes empty parking stalls that are usually full tell the story of how difficult it can be to get to her shop.
“You can get out of Benson easily, but you can’t get into Benson easily, and what I have found is that if it makes it difficult for people to get to you, they just won’t come.”
She said there are other small businesses in Benson that are feeling the effects of months and months of construction on the area’s main street.
“I definitely think it impacts the area a little bit, but that’s been going on for quite a while, I feel like, since we moved in here, it’s been almost two years, some part of Maple has had construction on it down there,” said Wendy Pivonka, owner of Legend Comics.
She said construction isn’t the only thing hurting her business. She also gives the economy some of the blame.
Wendy says the construction might cost them new business from people who don’t drive by because of the construction work. She says things are tight right now..but she does alright when she has special events.
“People found us, you know they would complain about how they had to get here,” she said.
Information from the company working on the sewer separation project tell us that phase two of the project on Maple Street near 72nd Street should be completed late 2026.
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