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While a series of recent and ongoing construction projects in downtown Berkeley will ultimately bring improvements to the area’s appearance, it has left store and cafe owners with mixed feelings. 

Some say their businesses are losing up to 80 percent of their customers, while others consider road and building work just a slight inconvenience. 

The City of Berkeley is in charge of some construction projects and several private businesses are currently constructing their own buildings in the downtown area. 

The city’s downtown improvement projects includes work on Shattuck Avenue, Addison Street and University Avenue, where workers are replacing and fixing benches, sidewalks and street lamps. 

“The idea is to clean up the sidewalk and make it more attractive for pedestrians,” Deborah Badhia of the Downtown Berkeley Association said. 

Road construction last week closed off one lane of eastbound traffic on University Avenue and took away parking spaces on the block between Milvia Street and Shattuck Avenue while trench work was done. 

Daisy Dhillon, manager of House of Futons on University Avenue, complained about the noise that street construction makes outside the store. “They closed off the front part of our store that is a white loading zone, and normally people are able to park there and come in and purchase what they need,” said Dhillon, who estimated the store is losing about 30 percent of its customers during construction. “I think that now the construction is limiting that. A lot of people just drive by.” 

Bea Dong, owner of Eastwind Books on University Avenue, said the construction is not affecting foot traffic, it is just causing an inconvenience for people who normally park in front of the store. 

However, some businesses have seen an upside to construction. 

The construction at the Berkeley Repertory Theater on Addison Street directly across from the Capoeira Arts Cafe has been going on for about eight months, but has not hurt business, says manager Dae Beck. 

“Most of out business is foot traffic, so it has not affected us,” Beck said. “Actually, some of the construction workers have been patronizing the cafe, so if anything the construction is helping us.” 

Vic Touriel, owner of Darling Flower Shop on University Avenue, added that while walk-in customers have decreased almost a third in the last week, the city construction workers are working fast. 

“This group of construction workers is very efficient, and there’s nothing we can do about (loss of customers),” Touriel said. “I think it’s going to move all right.” 

Mike Talai, owner of Au Coquelet Cafe at the corner of University Avenue and Milvia Street, said that his main concern is that the road work on University only lasts as long as the contractors said it would. 

The construction is scheduled to last only three to four weeks for each block, with one week already complete on the first block. When finished, the sidewalk will be wider and restaurants will be able to put tables outside, similar to the present setup of Center Street between Shattuck Avenue and Oxford Street. 

The City of Berkeley is also currently in charge of construction of three downtown buildings. The Public Library at the corner of Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue is being renovated. It is expected to open by the spring of 2001. 

The Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Building at 2118 Milvia Street is under renovation. Construction should be completed by the end of the year. 

Construction of the Public Safety Building, next to the city courthouse, has closed off one lane of traffic for a block. The building should be finished in the next month or two. 

However, there are no stores adjacent to any of these buildings that are affected by the work. The only result of these projects is a loss of curbside parking spaces. 

Businesses are losing customers because of fewer parking spaces; however, they have no choice but to wait for street construction to finish. 

“Sometimes you have to go through some pain for progress,” Dong said. “But hopefully it will get better.”