A section of Main Street in Historic Downtown Cochrane is a bit ugly right now and a shop owner is not happy about it. The Town of Cochrane has scheduled a concrete pour to fix some aesthetics, but Karrie Peace, owner of Heavenly Outhouse and Poor Davids, is calling the town out for its poor timing. "Who made this call? The Grinch? Being an independent retailer is hard enough these days. Usually, the weather is the biggest concern, but this year it's the town deciding that stamping concrete on the summer benches must happen this week and next," said Peace. She said the weeks leading up to Christmas are some of the busiest for shop owners downtown. The parking spaces in front of both storefronts are blocked off by concrete mixing trucks and construction fences. Several shop managers and owners one block down, including from the Kitchen Boutique and Horse Creek Heritage Candy & Gifts, said their businesses don't appear to be affected by the kerfuffle. However, Tanya Fehr, owner of Vintage Verandah, said while her business isn't affected, she does sympathize with Peace and questions the town's timing. "I have driven by it and the thought has crossed my mind, why would they do that at this time of the year," Fehr said. "I can totally see Karrie's point." Laurie Drukier, town senior communications adviser, said the Parks Department is wrapping up revitalization work on some of the benches and planters in Historic Downtown. "Parking had been temporarily affected while concrete was being poured but has been opened up now. Construction will be complete early next week" Drukier said. "Parks and Community Services staff are working with the contractor and business owners as we work through the process" Drukier said there has only been one complaint from a business owner.
