The headache that is the west end of Market St has been impacting far more than just traffic in Ballard — businesses west of 24th have been hit hard by the construction, with blocked driveways, non-existent parking options, and the constant drone of jackhammers.
Construction on the Ballard Multimodal Corridor has been ongoing since the start of the summer, and has reduced traffic to one way in both directions. There’s no parking along the stretch between 24th Ave NW and 30th, and detours are in place in some areas.
Hannah, whose mother owns Firehouse Coffee at 2622 NW Market St., says that summer is usually their busiest time — but not this summer.
“Summer is the most crucial time in making income and investing for the later seasons, however, it’s been stressful even making profit these days,” Hannah tells My Ballard.
She says that weekend construction has been especially devastating.
“The city gave us only a two-day notice that we had to close during one whole weekend because of the construction in front of our driveways, even though we told them that the weekends are the most crucial times for our business,” she says.
And then there’s the jackhammers.
“Many times there have been jackhammers right in front of our shop making brutally loud noises and, literally, shaking our building throughout the whole day.”
Hannah recognized that they’re lucky to have a parking lot — many businesses along the stretch rely on street parking for customers.
The Sloop Tavern is one such business — they say they’ve seen a downturn in their lunch business.
“This is gonna be going all summer and the city isn’t providing any economic assistance after taking all the parking and shutting driveways,” The Sloop writes on Facebook.
Brenda Reed, owner of Kiss Cafe, says they too have seen a smaller lunch crowd.
“Day time is less busy due to the confusion and chaos due to the construction,” Reed says. “It’s a huge mess.”
In an effort to encourage people to visit some of the struggling businesses, Windermere Real Estate in Ballard made the above map of cafes, shops, bars, and other business along that stretch.
The construction along Market St is expected to continue through the end of the summer. The Missing Link trail construction is on hold, however, due to the recent court ruling to halt work.
If the trail were located along 54th, none of these disruptions would have occurred and the finished project would be better with a more direct route for the trail, less grade and fewer driveway crossings. Also, the vast majority of the public wanted the trail on 54th next to the railroad tracks between the locks and 24th.