Downtown Green Bay businesses have put out a call for local support after finding out last week key parking spaces along North Washington Street will be closed for the holiday shopping season.
Wisconsin Public Service Corp. crews in early December closed a lane of Washington Street from Pine Street to Cherry Street so utility crews could perform infrastructure updates. It’s technically called a “street modification” and this one will eliminate key street parking spaces on Washington Street through mid-January.
Some business owners got letters in November from WPS about the work, but a couple said the duration of the street modification caught them off guard. Lion’s Mouth Bookstore owner Amy Mazzariello grew more concerned when she learned the street modification would run the full duration of the prime holiday shopping season and during Green Bay Packers home game weekends.
“I’ve learned my street is effectively closed to parking until Jan. 10,” Mazzariello told the Press-Gazette. “Had we known this was going to happen, we would have put it in our newsletters. We would have given incentives. We would have ramped up delivery.”
Why did WPS require a street modification on Washington Street?
Wisconsin Public Service spokesperson Matthew Cullen said utility crews are upgrading a portion of WPS’ underground electric distribution system near the intersection of Washington and Cherry streets. The project is scheduled to be complete by mid-January.
The work includes replacing equipment that has reached the end of its useful life and needs replacement in order to provide reliable electric service to customers, Cullen said in an email. He said traffic lanes and pedestrian sidewalks will remain open for the duration of the street modification.
Downtown Green Bay Inc. Executive Director Jeff Mirkes noted there has been some confusion about what the work involves. He said some downtowners thought the closure was related to Nova Green Bay construction nearby, but it is not.
“It’s true utility and infrastructure work,” Mirkes said. “This is major utility work and repairs. All businesses will benefit from this upgrade.”
‘If you love your small business, make it a priority to get there’
Bryan Baumler, owner of Heights Pub and Parlor’s restaurant, said he was unaware the project would take a full month. He understands the work is necessary and that improvements must be made, but construction and the trucks will be there for four more weeks, including weekends and holidays.
“In my opinion, this could steer off some of the locals,” Baumler said.
Lion’s Mouth on Dec. 9 emailed its customers to notify them of the road closure, encourage them to continue to shop local businesses and to direct them customers to the Cherry Street parking ramp as an alternative. They also offered free delivery to customers who live in Brown County.
“I just need people to know we’re here. If you love your small business, make it a priority to get there,” Mazzariello said. “If people know in advance it’s going to be that way till Jan. 10, they can plan for it.”
Baumler said receiving a letter was “great,” but the lack of a clear timeline is a bit disappointing, especially now that he has learned the project will run even longer than expected. He said knowing this timeline could’ve helped plan better for events.
“Just having that heads-up would’ve been helpful,” Baumler said.
WPS agrees to re-open Washington Street twice during closure
WPS in response to businesses concerns has agreed to reopen North Washington Street entirely for two key periods between now and when work wraps up in mid-January, Cullen said.
WPS will remove its barricades the night of Dec. 23 through Dec. 28, a Packers home game weekend when Mirkes said downtown shops, restaurants and bars see more traffic and business. Cullen said the street will also be opened from the night of Dec. 31 through Jan. 2.
“We appreciate our customers’ patience and we are working to minimize the impact on surrounding businesses,” Cullen said in an email. “We are communicating directly with local businesses about our work and when we expect to complete it.”
Mirkes in the meantime encouraged businesses to get creative to encourage customers to continue shopping downtown, citing Lion’s Mouth as an example of how businesses can let customers know where they can park and offer incentives to shop small during a key season. He also encouraged shoppers to “take the extra step” and park in the nearby Cherry Street parking ramp, which is free after 6 p.m. on weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday.
City of Green Bay adds an incentive
The City of Green Bay added an incentive of its own to try to help draw more customers downtown.
Matt Buchanan, the city’s deputy development director, said the city will provide Washington Street businesses with parking ramp vouchers to give their customers who park in the Cherry Street ramp to alleviate the impacts from the temporary loss of street parking.
Ariel Perez is a business reporter for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Follow his X profile at @Ariel_Perez85.
Contact business reporter Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or jbollier@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X at @JeffBollier.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Downtown Green Bay businesses look to overcome loss of key parking for holidays
Reporting by Jeff Bollier and Ariel Perez, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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