SALT LAKE CITY -- If you’ve been to Sugar House lately, you’ve noticed all the construction going on.
Some business owners are upset about the parking – or lack thereof.
They said business has been down, and they believe it’s due to all of the construction vehicles taking up customer parking.
“Our daytime business is hurting because there’s no parking,” said Jerry Silva, Co-Owner of Fat’s Grill.
FOX 13 News showed up at the Highland Plaza parking lot Friday morning to find that the majority of the parking lot was, in fact, occupied by construction vehicles.
“It’s filled with construction vehicles by 9:00 a.m. every day, and they don’t leave until three o’clock,” Silva said.
It’s a private lot meant for employees and customers for the nearby businesses and signs are posted that say “no construction parking,” but it seems the signs are being ignored with no enforcement.
Silva adds, “The landlord has tried to put up signs but there’s no teeth to these signs.”
Bekke Robb, Co-Owner of 1 world Gifts, said it’s a problem in the area.
“The bottom line is that if I can’t even park, I can’t pay his rent, which is what it’s kind of coming down to the point where it’s just a struggle because we’re not getting our customers in," Robb said.
Robb said her customers are feeling the frustration as well.
“They are saying, ‘You know we’ve wanted to come in, we’ve really wanted to come in and see your store, but there’s never anywhere to park,’” Robb said.
We asked to talk with the owner of the lot and landlord to the businesses, but he didn’t have time for FOX 13 News Friday afternoon. An employee with Oakland Construction didn’t want to be on camera, but said they are trying to resolve the issue, asking employees to park on the street and nearby lots like the Boys and Girls Club, and even pushing for approval to park in the newly constructed underground lot of their new building.
FOX 13 News is told the condo construction is scheduled to be complete by early summer. In the meantime, Silva said, “We need customers to realize: Don’t be afraid to come down here and shop and eat and enjoy Sugar House.”
