Can you keep them shopping in the middle of a construction zone?

Signs on Bernard Avenue in Kelowna

I'm not saying that the city of Kelowna does not care what happens to the retailer that are affected by the construction project, but I wonder what effect these signs had. The retail stores in the affected blocks often seemed to be pretty deserted. That may have been the time of year as the construction started in September.

For retailers it is tough to pick the ideal time to do construction on the street in front of the shop. Ideally most retailers would like the entire project to have been completed just before they moved in. However, in the case of the Bernard Avenue construction, the underground infrastructure was in pretty sad shape and needed replacement.

It is not unlike the old maxim about trees. What is the best time to plant a tree? 40 years ago. What is the second best time? Today.

For the retailers the best time to rip up the road was 10 or 20 years ago. But if it was not done in 2002, then doing it in 2012 was probably better than waiting for a few years until the system failures become more frequent and the road gets torn up in the middle of tourist season.