Not-So-Easy Street Rehoboth Beach's three-year Streetscape improvement project will give residents and tourists a nicer Rehoboth Avenue, but it's hit business owners at the worst possible time. Delaware Today, June 2003 February's nearly record-breaking snow storm dropped close to two feet of snow on the doorstep of John Wolfle's Thunderbird Shop in Rehoboth Beach. To him, the snow was just one more hassle in a "triple whammy" of business impediments. Even after he cleared away the snow from his sidewalk, he still had to deal with the struggling economy — and the fact that he didn't have much of a sidewalk at all. During the winter months, Wolfle paced around his shop trying not to stare out the storefront window. He kept his eyes on the items inside, beautiful pieces of southwestern art. But they could give him only temporary respite from the window. His view consisted of a crooked barbed-wire fence running along the edge of the dug-up sidewalk. From Fifth Street to the corner of Second Street, where Wolfle's shop flanks a block of other stores, the fence encased the shops. "We're wondering if it's to keep customers out or the owners in," Wolfle says. But even a barbed-wire fence couldn't keep Wolfle inside when the construction crews knocked over a wall of flowers outside his store. He marched outside to have a few words with the foreman. The crew has since replaced the flowers, he says. Wolfle stands among the minority of shop owners who dare openly criticize the project. He says the problems steadily increased starting from the first week the construction crews arrived to dig up Rehoboth Avenue. "They used to put up signs saying they were going to close the street," he says. "Now they just close the street." Fortunately, he's gotten plenty of positive support and constant updates on the project from Rehoboth Beach Main Street, the nonprofit organization that has elected to serve as a liaison between the city and Rehoboth Beach's local businesses. The city itself, on the other hand, gives businesses little consideration, he says. The Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce released statistics in its monthly newsletter that list the profits and losses of businesses both inside and outside the construction zone. Restaurants in the construction zone saw a 29 percent drop in business from Sept. 2002 to Dec. 2002, compared to restaurants outside the construction zone, which experienced only a 4 percent drop in business. Retail shops in the construction zone recorded a 31 percent loss, while retail shops outside of the construction zone only dropped 7 percent. The Chamber of Commerce report shows that even apart from the economy and the nasty weather, the effects of the construction hurt businesses considerably. Fay Jacobs, executive director of Rehoboth Beach Main Street, looks at the project as a necessary evil. "One of the things people don't know is, [Streetscape] is really an infrastructure project," she says. "They had to do infrastructure work anyway." That work included placing all utility lines below ground and replacing worn hardware. The city decided to tack on a beautification element to the project since the street had to be torn up anyway. Jacobs says her organization served on the aesthetics committee to make sure the improvements would promote downtown Rehoboth's small-town atmosphere. It has also mediated between its members — business and property owners in the downtown area — and the project coordinators. During public meetings before the project, the Chamber of Commerce recommended that business owners apply for civil authority insurance, also called "interruption of business" insurance, to help brace themselves against a potential drop in sales. Wolfle points out, though, that interruption of business insurance only covers devastation outside of anyone's control, like a loss of business because of a hurricane. The Streetscape project doesn't qualify, he says, because it's "controlled devastation." Sam Calagione, owner of Dogfish Head Brewings and Eats, says he counts his business as more fortunate than most on Rehoboth Avenue, since it's got its own parking lot. During the height of the first construction phase last winter, parking spaces became precious around Rehoboth Beach's main thoroughfare; patrons of most businesses had to park along side streets or in municipal parking lots. But even with its parking lot, Dogfish Head felt the effects of the Streetscape project during contruction. "We're sure that it's affecting our business," Calagione says. "There are going to be those who say, '[Rehoboth] is a mess, so let's not go down there.'" Even though the restaurant and the other shops between Fifth and Second streets were accessible during the off-season, they all had the same ugly storefront view as The Thunderbird Shop. "We knew there'd be fencing, but we didn't know it would have razor wire," Calagione says. "When you're in the restaurant, it's like you're serving hard time." Still, Calagione takes the project in stride, expecting the ends to justify the means. "Running your own company isn't easy. Everyone's just kind of lowering their shoulders and getting through it — like we've all done to stay in business." Before the Streetscape project, Rehoboth Avenue businesses and residences got their electricity and telephone service from wooden utility poles whose paths spanned the length of the street. Those polls impeded the view of the beach from the street, Jacobs says, but the Streetscape project will solve that problem. During the 2002-2003 off-season, crews renovated the section of Rehoboth Avenue between Fifth and Second streets. The firm overseeing the project, Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson, began work in fall 2002. Craig Buser, the project engineer, says crews threaded all-new telephone and electricity lines underneath Rehoboth Avenue, eliminating the need for the above-ground utility poles. After the lines were installed underground, the construction crews began working on improvements to the street and sidewalks, which were made slightly wider and now have a wavy curb. Crosswalk corners became peninsulas that jut slightly into the street to give foot traffic a shorter trip across the avenue. A new concrete sidewalk was poured in early spring, and pavers filled in the crosswalks with interlaced gray bricks. The final steps in the process were installing the new coal-black streetlamps and landscaping the sidewalks and medians. Driving around Rehoboth Avenue in the off-season will remain an inconvenience for the next two years, as contractors begin the second and third phases of the Streetscape project. The second phase, to be completed during the 2003-2004 off-season, will cover the area between Canal Road and Fifth Street. Workers will transplant the mini lighthouse that currently stands on the Chamber of Commerce's property to the center of a traffic circle. The traffic circle, which received mixed reviews from home and business owners during the planning stages, will tie together Columbia Avenue and Grove Street where they intersect Rehoboth Avenue. Business owners and residents spoke out about the proposed traffic circle during planning meetings, but their opposition subsided when they learned the alternative would be a traffic light, Jacobs says. She mentions a vow made by Delaware Department of Transportation Secretary Nathan Hayward to the townspeople: If the traffic circle doesn't work, he'll take it out. A spokesman for DelDOT confirms that promise. Wolfle is one of the townspeople who thinks the traffic circle will cause problems. "In England, they call it a circus," he says, "with reason." The less controversial final phase, to be completed during the 2004-2005 off-season, will renovate the section of Rehoboth Avenue between Second Street and the Boardwalk. Jacobs points out that plenty of small towns have gone through similar street renovation projects, and she's confident that the three-year hassle will generate far-reaching rewards. "I think if we can put up with muddy tires or driving around the block a couple of times, it's going to be worth it — I've seen what it's done for other cities," she says. "But," she adds, "I'll feel personally glad when it's over." Shaun Gallagher is Delaware Today's managing editor.