Good news, bad news. The good news is that Fort Collins has a lot of money to put towards street maintenance and construction projects. The bad news is that it can be hard to get around town and your business can be harmed if access is cut off.
Here are a few things you can do.
Be patient. The new and improved street, bridge, or sidewalk will be great when it’s done. The price of being inconvenienced somewhat will be worth it in the long run.
Stay informed. The City has a good website with a variety of tools for staying informed about street projects. The address is http://www.fcgov.com/fctrip/. You’ll find an interactive map showing all of the projects and information about each. You can also sign up for Twitter and email updates.
However, tell your Council Member, if your business is being unnecessarily harmed due to construction. Nobody wants to be a complainer, and for the most part, the City does a pretty good job of trying to mitigate impacts on businesses. However, we occasionally hear stories about lack of responsiveness or indifference by construction crews. Let your elected representatives know. You can find a City Council district map here, and here is their contact information:
- District 1 – Councilmember Bob Overbeck, Cell: (970) 988-9337, E-mail: [email protected]
- District 2 – Councilmember Lisa Poppaw, Cell: (970) 817-0587, E-mail: [email protected]
- District 3 – Councilmember Gino Campana, Cell: (970) 460-6329, E-mail: [email protected]
- District 4 – Councilmember Wade Troxell, Cell: (970) 219-8940, E-mail: [email protected]
- District 5 – Councilmember Ross Cunniff, Cell: (970) 420-7398, E-mail: [email protected]
- District 6 – Councilmember Gerry Horak, Cell: (970) 217-2993, E-mail: [email protected]
Contact the Chamber. We will help in two ways. If you have already tried to reach a city official but have not been able to do so, we will communicate your concern to the City. Second, we will encourage the public and other Chamber members to patronize your business to try to offset some of the lost business.
Hang in there and enjoy the construction season for what it is: progress.