SEATTLE — Business owners in Seattle's Madison Valley neighborhood say they're fed up with ongoing construction hurting their bottom line as work on the RapidRide G line enters what is supposed to be its final year.
"I know we're not the only neighborhood dealing with the impact, but this is the most extreme example," said Nat Stratton-Clarke, owner of vegetarian eatery Cafe Flora.
The restaurant sits down the block from Martin Luther King Jr. Way and E. Madison St. where most of the construction is centered, but even then they're seeing fewer customers, especially at night.
"People are steering clear of Madison, they're steering clear of the small businesses," said Stratton-Clarke, adding that 11 businesses in the area have closed because of construction which is more than closed during the pandemic.
"As their businesses were literally surrounded by construction you could barely see how to access them how do you even get in the front door."
An extensive project for King Country Metro, the $130 million Madison RapidRide G line will connect downtown Seattle to Madison Valley in minutes.
But to get to the finish line, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) says they needed to make additional street improvements on E. Madison St., which meant more construction.
Earlier this year, SDOT announced the project was in its final year, but store owners like Sally Brock of the jewelry store Fancy say they're barely hanging on.
"I do get a lot of customers who vent about this construction as soon as they walk in the door," said Brock adding that she's thankful for the customers who do come but wonders how many turn around and go home.
Same with The Music Factory's Ari Joshua, who says recovery after three years will be hard.
"They shut down the street they shut down the sidewalk there's nowhere for people to park," said Joshua.
In a letter to city officials from the Madison Valley Merchants Association, the group is calling for more equitable solutions in the future.
"I think we need to look at that multi-billion budget and say how can we support those small businesses whether that's through financial help whether that's help through marketing," said Stratton-Clarke.
In a statement to KING 5 about the project, SDOT said: "For the RapidRide G project, we've made adjustments based on requests from local businesses including the Madison Valley area. For example, we scheduled the last section of paving in the intersection of Madison and Martin Luther King Jr Way to keep it open during weekends. We typically schedule major intersection work for weekends due to higher commuter volumes on weekdays, but weekend access was more important to the businesses. We also were able to pause sidewalk construction in front of businesses until after the holiday season.
When it comes to solutions from the city, KING 5 also reached out to Seattle City Council member Joy Hollingsworth and has not heard back.
"They are planning to do the same thing to Eastlake. Let us be the lesson, I don't want this to happen to another neighborhood," Stratton-Clarke said.