The Avila Beach Drive Roundabout project is nearing its final phase. However, some local business owners are not thrilled about what might happen to their businesses during a closure of the intersection.
For Avila Valley Barn off of Avila Beach Drive, the summer is their busiest time of year.
“Our peak season is July, our parking lot is full and our parking lot is almost five acres, so that's a lot of visitors," Owner Raven Lukehart explained.
Lukehart is worried that the busy summer season might take a hit with the final phase of the Avila Beach Drive Roundabout project slated for a 40-day shutdown of the intersection in July, which means people wouldn’t have a direct line to businesses along that road.
“We operate our business off of those three [summer] months for the entire year. So to have 40 days taken out of that, it's really scary for us as business owners," she said.
The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors recently saw Lukehart and Visit SLO CAL speak during public comment. In an email to KSBY, Visit SLO CAL said that they would like to see “proactive mitigations to minimize traffic congestion and business disruption. Clear wayfinding, 'Open for Business' signage and collaborative marketing support are essential to sustaining access and supporting local businesses and residents throughout the project."
Avila Hot Springs employee Hannah Hamel also mentioned that even though there’s always been traffic along Avila Beach Drive, there seems to be more now during the current phase of roundabout construction with a new four-way stop sign.
“Lately there's been a lot of traffic maybe around five or so, and everyone's leaving the beach area and going up towards the freeway because they have a four-way stop over there now," Hamel explained.
While many business owners and stakeholders in the area believe the project is important, Lukehart suggested moving the closure to August when the busy season starts to die down.
“I'm hoping that they will really enhance that plan to make sure it's appropriate for if it is July, a July closure. But even in August, you know, we have a ton of visitors year-round," Lukehart said.
At the board of supervisors meeting, Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg suggested increased communication, more onsite staffing and another discussion with the contractor, CalPortland, to see if another time period can be chosen for the closure.
“See if there’s not a way to avoid July, particularly the truck show and move it towards mid-August through September and see if there’s not some flexibility there," Ortiz-Legg said last Tuesday.
At the meeting, SLO County Public Works roundabout project manager Aaron Yonker said that it would be best to avoid the summer and winter months, but with the 20-month construction schedule of all the phases, it happens to be landing this summer.
Supervisors last week requested more review on the project as they look into whether the timeline for the closure can be moved. They’re expected to make a decision on the project’s timeline at a later meeting.
