The owner of Carolina Cafe, a cafe near USC's Horseshoe, is concerned for her business as the parking spots outside of the store are replaced with bike lanes.
The project, conducted by the South Carolina Department of Transportation, aims to improve pedestrian commutes. But it has been upsetting for Carolina Cafe owner Lauren Schlueter. She said she is concerned about businesses being inaccessible to motor traffic as the plan is underway. In an attempt to have the plan reconsidered, she put up a sign in her cafe that explained the situation and asked if anyone could help.
Schlueter said the removal of parking is already becoming an inconvenience to her business. The street has had two spots removed, and the Department of Transportation plans to remove the remaining spots in the next few months.
"People are saying they can't come in and grab their morning coffee and bagel because there's no place to park," Schlueter said.
Schlueter said she feels like small businesses will be "squeezed out" by the project advancement and hopes that the plan will be reassessed.
Schlueter is not only concerned for her cafe but for the neighboring businesses as well. She said she believes that the absence of parking will lead to economic loss as people aren't able to stop by as easily.
"I've been here 28 years," Schlueter said. "Do they not think of small business?"
However, a nearby business owner doesn't expect the project to affect her business much.
"I don't know that it's really going to affect our business because there's so little parking now; it already sucks," said Candace Sharpe, owner of Strange Times Vintage. "I may get negatively affected a tiny bit but not enough for me to care."
The plan to expand pedestrian lanes began in 2017, mainly focused on South Main Street, and is predicted to be completed by June 30. The project is being executed by the Department of Transportation and has received funding from USC, the City of Columbia and Richland County Pennies for Progress. The Department of Transportation held public information meetings about the project and received approval for the proposal years ago.
Berry Mattox, the South Carolina Department of Transportation project manager, said the plan was designed to promote pedestrian and bicycle safety.
Mattox explained that the parking is owned and regulated by the City of Columbia, but can understand why it worries Carolina Cafe.
"I know they were upset," Mattox said. "And, yeah, I could understand their concern. And obviously, we wish they were aware of it ahead of time and it wasn't so abrupt. But at the same time, the (Department of Transportation) is not removing something that belonged to that private property."
According to Maddox, the project is intended to enhance the area and allow for safer pedestrian commutes at the expense of some parking spots.
"I think it's going to be a good thing at the end of the day," Mattox said.