YOUR AD HERE »

Park City businesses have ‘accepted’ major Prospector roadwork

Signs prohibit eastbound drivers from Prospector Avenue as major roadwork continues. A figure in the Prospector Square Property Owners Association, Dean Berrett, says the first few days of the one-way restrictions were the most difficult.
Jay Hamburger/Park Record

The City Hall redo of Prospector Avenue and a private-sector improvements project in Prospector Square has left some businesses unhappy with the impact on sales.

But the leadership of a group known as the Prospector Square Property Owners Association said on Monday many of the businesses understand the projects and planned for the disruption.

Dean Berrett, a member of the board of directors of the association and a figure with an ownership interest in several Prospector Square buildings, said in an interview businesses have “accepted” the construction. He said lots of information was distributed prior to the start of work that prepared the businesses.



“No one has come to me and said my business is down,” Berrett said, describing he has not received a “significant negative response.”

He acknowledged the first few days of the City Hall work were the most difficult as traffic patterns were altered on Prospector Avenue, turning the road into a one-way route for the project. Since then, though, the project team has added signs and electronic message boards meant to clarify the situation for drivers, he said.



Berrett said the organization distributed information to Prospector businesses prior to the start of the work and continues to send electronic messages, perhaps two or three per week, outlining the progress.

“It is a traffic impact. … People have to, I guess, change their habit,” he said.

There are two major projects underway that are impacting the Prospector business district, something that has likely exacerbated the situation along the Prospector Avenue corridor.

City Hall’s Prospector Avenue improvement is the most visible and forced the change in traffic patterns, making the road a one-way route during construction. Numerous signs and barricades directing traffic have been posted.

The Prospector Square Property Owners Association, meanwhile, is making improvements alongside the municipal work. The association’s project includes building sidewalks around parking lot H and parking lot D, new asphalt in the two lots and, by the end of October, new lighting in the two lots.

“It’s something we’ve come to accept as a way of life in Park City, unfortunately,” Berrett said about the impact of roadwork and other public improvements.

The roadwork is projected to cost nearly $2 million and includes milling the road asphalt and putting down a new layer of asphalt. The crews are also building bus pullouts, improving sidewalks and upgrading lighting. Officials say the road, which is a key route in the Prospector business district as well as the Prospector neighborhood, will function better once the project is complete.

Berrett and the association closely followed the discussions at City Hall about the project and then monitored the talks about the operational plans for the roadwork, including the one-way routing. The one-way plan was selected after it was determined it would lead to a condensed timelime.

A restaurant on Prospector Avenue last week indicated business has fallen dramatically as a result of the roadwork. The owner of Good Karma Restaurant, Houman Gohary, said business has dropped by 75 percent, leading to reduced tips for servers and Gohary’s decision to continue Monday and Tuesday closures. It was the most dramatic report thus far of the impacts on business.

City Hall anticipates the work will be completed by late in October. The road will remain one way westbound throughout the project, but the crews will switch sides later in August.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Park City and Summit County make the Park Record's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.