The storefront at Buffalo Gal’s Boutique on Central Avenue in St. Petersburg is red, white and blue -- ready for a surge of Republican National Convention shoppers. "I was very hopeful," owner Desiree Sheridan said. "I even invested into some stock for the convention.”
While Sheridan has been busy getting her products ready for potential customers, city crews have been putting up 10-foot high fences as part of the city’s traffic plan that will close several roads and reduce some streets to one lane in most areas during the RNC.
The traffic changes are a big problem for Sheridan, especially since she was just informed cars parked on Central Avenue, just outside her store, will have to be moved at some point Saturday afternoon.
"We’re not asking businesses to close," St. Petersburg Police Department spokesperson Lt. Bill Korinek said. "All we’re doing right now is reducing parking in certain areas to maintain traffic flow and to take care of the security issues."
“What am I to tell my customers?" Sheridan wondered. "Come down and shop? Or gee, we may be shopping and if we see meter maids and police activity around, you’re going to have to move your car and close up your shopping day."
“We’ll open the roads before that," Korinek said. "We’re going to open the roads back up Monday morning, after our event at Tropicana Field.
Also on the top of mind, Korinek said the department is prepared to shift gears into a hurricane plan if it becomes necessary; the same plan the city has always had prepared.
He added that the city has plenty of staff on hand to handle any necessary removal of barricades or any other issues that might come up with Tropical Storm Isaac.