Local economies feel impact of shutdown

October’s government shut down affected various communities throughout the country. In her story, Drew Parker describes the economic impact felt in Peninsula, Ohio. TV2 Reporter Jen Bellissimo reports on the impact on one local business.

[rpavideo width= “400” caption= “In this video, TV2 Reporter Jen Bellissimo reports on a local bike shop near Cuyahoga Valley National Park affected by the federal government shutdown and opening day responses.”]RPA_04_Bellissimo2[/rpavideo]

Park closure hurts Peninsula businesses

By Drew Parker

PENINSULA, OHIO — Although the 16-day partial government shutdown ended Wednesday night, the local economy surrounding Cuyahoga Valley National Park is still in a recovery period.

Chris Ryan, chief park ranger for the park, said the 16-day close of the park affected several communities in the area. Ryan said fall is a peak time for the park, and its Towpath Trail, a main attraction for runners and bikers, lost thousands of visitors.

“On an average we would get 1,650 people per day on the Towpath Trail in autumn,” Ryan said. “The Village of Peninsula has been deserted.”

Retailers suffer

Century Cycles in Peninsula, rents bicycles for Towpath users and has also been affected by the park’s decline in visitors. Sales manager Douglas Charnock, said the bike store would usually sell 80-90 bike rentals during an autumn day, at a rate of $9 per hour.

“We’d usually have all of our bikes out, and we’ve had none out because of the shutdown,” Charnock said. “We’ve had people laid off early in the season.”

Charnock said he still has some concerns even with the government reopening and feels some of the money loss might be irreplaceable because of weather changes.

“We’re hoping that word gets out that people can visit the parks again and that everyone is aware,” Charnock said. “We’re hoping there won’t be a perfect storm: where the park reopens just when the weather gets bad for the season.”

Irreplaceable Loss

Stephen Bures, co-owns Elements Gallery with his wife Debra in downtown Peninsula. Bures said that the gallery is an international destination, and the shutdown halted the store’s Christmas retail sales and orders.

“October generally is one of our busiest months of the year and the shutdown brought it to zero,” Bures said. “The train wasn’t running; hikers, bikers, and all the folks who normally come here were gone. People come here from all over the world and that flow stopped completely.”

Bures said that several artisans in the area have lost revenue from the park closing.

[pullquote]”If the government thought about small businesses before the shutdown, they definitely didn’t consider them a priority.” — Stephen Bures[/pullquote]

“We represent about 45 local artists, and that has ramifications for their sales because we take orders for them at our gallery,” Bures said.  “This issue has had a huge ripple effect.”

Bures said although he is happy the government has reopened, he feels the loss of revenue for Peninsula is significant.

“I think this is a non-repairable loss,” Bures said. “If the government thought about small businesses before the shutdown, they definitely didn’t consider them a priority.”