MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Nancy Alcorn, the owner of Cook's Clean Center on North Main Street in Blacksburg, is concerned about the effects proposed road work will have on the business her family has operated for 65 years.

Under the $10 million road project, a two-lane roundabout will be constructed at Prices Fork Road and North Main Street.

BLACKSBURG -- Today's traffic report on the planned North Main Street project:

Lane blocked in front of Cook's Clean Center.

Collision of business and government at North Main and Giles Road.

Town council works overtime to clear bottlenecks.

Put another way, some business and commercial property owners worry that a $10 million road project intended to revitalize downtown might hurt them.

Council will hear final comments Tuesday before voting on a resolution to move the project forward.

As proposed, the project would remake a half-mile stretch of North Main from College Avenue to Kabrich Street. Under the project, traffic will be reduced from four lanes to two through-lanes plus one turn lane; a two-lane roundabout will be constructed at Prices Fork Road; and intersections with Giles Road and Turner Street will be reconfigured, among other changes.

The finished project is expected to slow vehicle traffic and make the area safer for pedestrians and vehicles.

Between Jan. 1, 2004, and Oct. 31, 2006, 93 vehicle crashes occurred along that stretch of North Main, officials said. During a five-year period, Virginia Department of Transportation records show a total of 15 pedestrian and bicycle wrecks, some serious.

"We have a horrible record of both vehicle and pedestrian accidents there. We've got to do something," Mayor Ron Rordam said.

An improved North Main is also expected to boost business for shop and restaurant owners and help with fledgling downtown revitalization efforts.

"The goal is essentially to bring more customers into that area so that everybody has a broader customer base than they do now," Councilman Tom Sherman said.

Planning for the road project began in 2003. But the need for infrastructure improvements grew more urgent with news that Virginia Tech plans to build its $82 million Center for the Arts at North Main and Turner streets.

"Many of the businesses there will see more people than they've ever seen before, and we have to plan ahead for that," Councilman Don Langrehr said.

Langrehr pointed out that smart growth principles encourage the kind of infill development the North Main and arts center projects can bring to downtown.

And, he said, he's hopeful the improvements will "rejuvenate and extend what we now perceive as downtown Blacksburg ... that portion of North Main could potentially turn into a pedestrian boulevard."

Traffic jams

There have been objections to many parts of the plan, most notably 29 percent of residents who commented on the project disliked the roundabout.

Initially, Rordam joined them in their objections but has said since that research on their effectiveness has convinced him roundabouts will work in Blacksburg.

Recently, however, objections to the roundabout have taken a back seat to concerns that the improvements will come at a high cost to some business owners.

Four buildings between Prices Fork and Kabrich will be leveled, forcing the 18-year-old Psychic Shop to eventually relocate, owners Ann Michaels and Steve Mitchell said.

Parking spaces in front of Cook's Clean Center will be permanently blocked.

Cook's owner Nancy Alcorn is particularly worried about the effects on the business her family has operated for 65 years. She estimated about 20 percent of her customers walk in, while the rest drive up to drop off their laundry. Limiting her parking could make it inconvenient for customers and force them to go elsewhere, she said.

"They seem to want to make downtown some fairyland," Alcorn said of council members. "They think everybody in downtown Blacksburg wants to ride a bicycle or walk, but they don't."

Left turns into Cook's and Giles Road are shut off in the current plans, but town officials say they are working on a possible plan to restore a left turn at Giles. The Giles Road intersection is a hot spot for wrecks caused when drivers try to turn left against two lanes of oncoming traffic. But it is also a major access road for businesses in the 600 and 700 blocks of North Main.

"They are cutting off a couple of different ways to get to us," said Scott Elich of Mill Mountain Coffee and Tea in the 700 block. "It probably won't help business."

New entrances and exits to the 700 block are being considered, but no remedy has yet been proposed for the 600 block, which includes Bogen's restaurant, medical offices and other businesses.

Bill Ellenbogen owns the Bogen's building and some offices in the 600 block. One of the town's more prolific developers, Ellenbogen said he understands the need for road improvements and would be "100 percent in favor" of the project -- if the council would allow left turns onto Giles Road.

Blocking left turns at that intersection will force traffic into residential areas such as Progress Street, Ellenbogen said. The other unsavory choice for customers will be to cut through private parking lots to get to Giles Road, he said.

Ellenbogen, whose office overlooks that troublesome intersection, said he thinks narrowing the road from four to two lanes will make left turns much safer. Having a curb cut for businesses there "is not an unreasonable request," he said.

Retrofitting the plan

Council has already tweaked several parts of the plan in response to concerns, including a possible lease agreement with Alcorn for some town-owned parking spaces near her business. Increasing parking on adjacent side streets is also under discussion.

Project manager Brandon Steele said he has looked into allowing left turns at Giles, too. But doing so would likely cause bottlenecks in the roundabout, compromising safety and traffic flow, he said.

There are still issues to work out, Councilman Sherman said. Such a project "very rarely works out to be perfect for everybody. But the goal is to have it as good as possible for everybody."

Other business owners see good things coming out of the project, even as they brace for the inconveniences of the estimated two years of construction.

"It probably will affect business because obviously everything is going to be torn up in front of us. People won't be able to get around easily," said Heavener Hardware co-owner Charles Woerner.

"Once it's finished, my hope is it will help. It looks like it's going to open the area up and give us some greater visibility," Woerner said.

Nancyne Willoughby knows the stress of having construction block access to your building. Shortly after she moved her Fringe Benefit clothing store to Main Street in 2004, crews ripped up the concrete sidewalks as part of a downtown revitalization project. Construction ran over deadline and even affected the annual Steppin' Out street festival.

Today, she points to the beautiful brick sidewalk and the landscaping outside her door.

"It's great now," she said.

Construction of the North Main improvements "might be a little painful," Willoughby said. "But in the end, it will be something good for the town."