BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Construction in downtown Bakersfield is impacting businesses right before one of their busiest holidays — Halloween.
Parts of Wall Street have been torn up, leaving shop owners dealing with unpaved sidewalks right before Halloween. As I walked through the area, I couldn't even enter the front door of one bar downtown.
One customer, who said he was unaware of the construction, told me finding parking is now more challenging.
"It was a lot of construction trucks. It's weird just to walk in the dirt. It's downtown. It should be cemented."
He is just one of many customers who said they were unaware of the construction. Other customers I saw had to roll their wheelchair in through the dirt, up the step, to get into the shop.
Trisha Fike, owner of Guthrie's, said business owners are frustrated with the timing of the California Water Service project.
"You would have to be delusional to think that there wasn't going to be a big deal. If they would've left us alone until January, we could've gotten through all of our holidays - everything would've gone smoothly."
While summers are long and slow, Fike said businesses like hers depend on making revenue around some of their biggest holidays — like Halloween.
Wall Street isn't the only area where ripped out sidewalks are a concern.
Marc Deleon, the owner of Mad Dog Tattoos along 18th and 19th streets, said a project that should've been done since the beginning of October is still going.
"We do have some metal grates in front of our business right now and it helps a little bit but coming onto the property from the street, you gotta go through dirt."
Both Guthrie's and Deleon said they hope construction is finished soon, as their businesses will remain open with the latest updates.
If you plan on heading downtown for Halloween, shop owners say they will remain open and ask residents to be cautious of the walkways.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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