The Parkway East closure is set to begin Friday, July 10. With the closure also comes a handful of single-lane restrictions and, of course, detours. And there will be a lot of cars taking the detours on routes that already see a heavy flow of traffic.So what does this mean for businesses along those routes? Well, we got those answers.”It’s going to be a nightmare for the simple fact that this area is already congested,” said Paul Babuscio, who works at Aiello’s Pizza. That’s the general consensus along Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill. Aiello’s says they are anticipating a bit of a decline in customers avoiding the area.”We probably won’t even staff as many people, for one, and for two, we just expanded our summer hours last month. Depending on how bad the closure takes on our business here, we may go ahead and go back to our original hours,” Babuscio said.PARKWAY EAST DETOURS: Interactive map and answers to your questionsIn Forest Hills, the owner of Roman Bistro on Ardmore Boulevard, which will become a heavy detour route, says the opposite.”I don’t anticipate the parkway hurting us as far as the business goes,” Rose Roman said. “One thing I think about is people maybe being late for reservations, getting those phone calls that, ‘Hey, we made a 5 o’clock, probably going to be 5:30.'”Roman says it will probably impact commuting times for her staff, who are being reminded with a whiteboard message. As far as customers, she’s thinking of reminding them as well.”Maybe put something clever up, hopefully keeping everybody with a little sense of humor about it all,” Roman said.Something everyone agrees on is their concern about the timeline. Will the closure actually only last 25 days?”They’re giving us the dates and whatnot, and target dates rarely are a hit when it comes to construction and things like that,” Babuscio said.”I’m hoping it’s quick. What did they say, 25 days? I hope that they stick to that,” said Aaron Siebzener, who owns Milky Way on Murray Avenue.
PITTSBURGH —
The Parkway East closure is set to begin Friday, July 10. With the closure also comes a handful of single-lane restrictions and, of course, detours. And there will be a lot of cars taking the detours on routes that already see a heavy flow of traffic.
So what does this mean for businesses along those routes? Well, we got those answers.
“It’s going to be a nightmare for the simple fact that this area is already congested,” said Paul Babuscio, who works at Aiello’s Pizza.
That’s the general consensus along Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill. Aiello’s says they are anticipating a bit of a decline in customers avoiding the area.
“We probably won’t even staff as many people, for one, and for two, we just expanded our summer hours last month. Depending on how bad the closure takes on our business here, we may go ahead and go back to our original hours,” Babuscio said.
PARKWAY EAST DETOURS: Interactive map and answers to your questions
In Forest Hills, the owner of Roman Bistro on Ardmore Boulevard, which will become a heavy detour route, says the opposite.
“I don’t anticipate the parkway hurting us as far as the business goes,” Rose Roman said. “One thing I think about is people maybe being late for reservations, getting those phone calls that, ‘Hey, we made a 5 o’clock, probably going to be 5:30.'”
Roman says it will probably impact commuting times for her staff, who are being reminded with a whiteboard message. As far as customers, she’s thinking of reminding them as well.
“Maybe put something clever up, hopefully keeping everybody with a little sense of humor about it all,” Roman said.
Something everyone agrees on is their concern about the timeline. Will the closure actually only last 25 days?
“They’re giving us the dates and whatnot, and target dates rarely are a hit when it comes to construction and things like that,” Babuscio said.
“I’m hoping it’s quick. What did they say, 25 days? I hope that they stick to that,” said Aaron Siebzener, who owns Milky Way on Murray Avenue.