For the benefit of those who don't follow them on Facebook:
Open letter to Rep Curtis BlackwoodAnd then:
Dear Representative Blackwood:
While I understand and know that the repairs at rout 16 & 75, today being Saturday, I’ve noted ZERO activity today. I understand that this project will take up to 5 weeks perhaps longer.
I guess I can understand not working at night (though that would help in fact working around the clock would turn a five week project into less than 2) but to not work on Saturday during the day vexes me.Vexes? It appears I'm not the only one vexed by elements of Waxhaw.
As a small business, we struggle to make ends meet anyway but having 2 main throughofares cut off is killing our business. We have several employees most are single moms who are working very hard to support their families.And then:
We’ll have no choice but to cut their hours. Again we understand the need for these improvements but on behalf of our employees and for ourselves we’d like to see everything that can be done being done to whittle that 5 week completion date back as far as we can. Regards,Mark & Patte KennedySouthSiders Public houseAnd finally:
Remember - it's an open letter to Rep. Blackwood-I'm just trying to get some movement 5 weeks 1 shift per day 5 days a week for a major artery is out of line.I imagine the continuing poor economy is playing at least a small role as not everyone can afford to go out as often as they'd like.
Although it seems a little premature to play 'we're-gonna-have-to-cut-the-hours-of- single-moms' card in my opinion. And along those lines, I'm not sure if there's an ideal time to play that card.
I suspect business will pick up a little now that it appears the derailment fiasco has run its course and word filters out that the alternative routes to Southsiders (eg. Church and South Main) are open.
I'd be surprised that anyone wanting to visit Southsiders for a beer, dog, or sandwich will be put off by having to travel one block farther.
2 comments:
I'm sorry you missed my point. Why aren't they working 24 hours and on Saturday? The urgency isn't just for us it's the ripple effect sorry you missed that too. Having lived through railroad crossing closings before - I can assure you this is the reason.
I will say that when I saw the extent of construction, I realized it was a little more extensive than I originally envisioned and therefore would be more of a headache for SouthSiders than I originally surmised. So I admit my one-block estimate in the initial post is off.
However, I still believe a week's worth of additional traffic uncertainty caused by the train derailment (which is still underway since Hwy 75 will be closed through Monday) is playing at least a small role in hurting Waxhaw's businesses.
But to answer your question, I imagine the reason that this construction project isn't running 24 hours a day is due to costs involved. Maybe someone can expound on this further, but I would imagine there's far more overtime costs involved on a project that's active 24 hrs a day. Adding in potential shift or weekend differentials would exacerbate the costs of the project as well.
And I have no doubt that there is a ripple effect if business continues to struggle. But given the other aforementioned traffic issues that continue to significantly affect Waxhaw denizens, it seems a little early to forewarn the town what you may need to do to your single mom employees if business doesn't pick up, especially considering construction work had essentially just begun when the Facebook posts went up.
And of course, it's just my opinion. It definitely won't stop me from coming in for a pint from time to time. ;-)
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