Five months of construction and project "Picture Main Street" in the Village of Williamsville is nearly complete. But it's not without disrupting local business owners.
"It was really difficult during the construction. Our business did suffer," Maggie Schwartz said. She owns Pumpkins Children's Clothing on Main Street and has been a staple for 17 years. Her boutique is just steps from the "crown jewel" of the $4.2 million dollar project--the HAWK signal.
"The word is out that the construction was slowing down traffic significantly and I think people just wanted to stay away from it," Schwartz added. To try to bring in customers while her front sidewalk was dug up, she turned to social media.
"But you can only do so much. People are going to come or not going to come based on what they heard," she said.
But with end in sight--"It's long overdue and we're happy it's here," Village Trustee Deb Rogers said.
If you drive down Main Street and look up at the HAWK signal you may notice it's covered in garbage bags.
"Those covers will be off in approximately two weeks from today. The D.O.T. needs to notify drivers," Rogers said. She also urges anyone that frequents Main Street to familiarize themselves with the HAWK Signal Safety Guide before the signal is up and running.
Rogers added, "There's a few finishing touches we are having benches, trash cans, bikes racks that will be installed later this month."
And that's just in time for Shop Small Saturday.
"It feels great. Business as usual is going to be very, very welcomed here," Schwartz said.
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