Jefferson City business says Madison Street Parking Garage work is creating challenges
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Madison Street parking garage in Jefferson City is closed off to the public as crews work to demolish it. As work begins on the garage, one business is worried it might throw off its normal flow.
Bones Restaurant and Lounge Manager Cindy McDaniel told ABC 17 News in October that she was worried construction would completely shut down Commercial Avenue, which is the alleyway where the Bones entrance is.
The city shut down the garage in late December and closed off the alley to vehicle traffic Jan. 5. People can still walk through portions of the alley, according to a city Facebook post.
An ABC 17 News reporter followed up with McDaniel on Saturday to see how Bones is doing as crews work on the garage. She said it's too early to know if there will be any significant impacts to business, but there are already some challenges.
McDaniel said a section of the alley is closed off in the middle while crews are working, so people can only access Bones through one side of the alley. She said many people don't want to walk around the block to the other side.
"We're having people not happy that they can't get in," McDaniel said. "We have people that will not go around to the other way to come in if they can't get through the way that's convenient to them, which we knew would happen."
Crews are preparing the garage for demolition and are working with utilities, according to the city's website.
McDaniel said they shut off the gas for the restaurant for a portion of Friday, which delayed the kitchen staff from opening on time.
"The construction guys are usually pretty good, but this is the first time that we've sort of had an issue where they weren't done working," McDaniel said.
The alley will be closed until June, according to the city.
Sections of the parking garage are structurally sound, but the ramps can't be used, according to previous reporting. Once the parking garage is down, the city can then start constructing a new conference center and hotel with a new parking garage as well.
ABC 17 News reached out to the City of Jefferson City.
