Oakland’s Rockridge repaving project thwarts plans for outdoor dining

OAKLAND, Calif. - Business owners and employees in Oakland's Rockridge neighborhood say a road repaving project is coming at the worst possible time.

Work will be done on busy College Avenue from Broadway to Alcatraz. The lanes won't be totally closed, but that's not much comfort for local businesses that were hoping to finally get their customers back.

College Avenue is filled with restaurants, cafes and retail stores. 

Merchants say they’re already struggling with loss of business due to the pandemic.

At Kitchen Story, owner Chaiporn Kitsadaviseksak says business is improving day by day since outdoor dining resumed last week.

"It's safe. Right now with the heat lamp outs, it's really cozy to be outside," says Anjuli Shukla who was dining out with her husband.  

But Oakland's College Avenue road repaving project starting Wednesday is putting a chill on businesses.

"Why they didn't fix the streets when everything was shut down? Why wait till now?" says Jesus Cendejas who works as a cashier at Crepevine.   

Business owners say they spent a lot of money and time on these parklets.

The one at Crepevine and the one at Kitchen Story are scheduled to be taken down Friday.

"I've been really upset. We've been [trying] for a long time, [we] have good food, good team," says Kitsadaviseksak. 

The parklets at some restaurants have already been dismantled and moved to side streets.

Restaurant workers say the joy of resuming outdoor dining was short-lived.

"You catch some air and all of a sudden, you get hit again. You got to go back down," says Cendejas.

The repaving project covers College Avenue from Broadway to Alcatraz.

A spokesman for Oakland says it was originally scheduled for last August but  merchants concerns have delayed it twice and the repairs and safety improvements need to be done.

"Honestly, there's a lot of other streets in Oakland that are in far worse shape than College Avenue," says Mary Elias, store manager with Cole Hardware.  

She says the construction noise and grime along with no street parking on College Avenue could keep many customers away at a time when business is already slow. 

In a statement, Oakland's spokesman wrote in part,

"We recognize the timing is challenging. At this time, the project is moving forward as announced, but we welcome additional input and suggestions how the city can support our community through what remains an extremely challenging time."

"It's going to hurt everybody. It's going to hurt the owners. It's going to hurt us the workers," says Cendejas.

The Oakland spokesman says the work will be done one block at a time and estimates each will take  a week.

Merchants say they've been told it'll be take three weeks to get the project done.