ROGERS, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Construction in Uptown Rogers is causing problems for some businesses in the area.

Sage Willis, a hairstylist at The Beauty Lounge in Uptown Rogers, says nearby hotel construction is forcing her customers to park far away.

“I have elderly female clients that have to walk a long distance, which have been cold and raining. So, if it’s cold, raining and slick, I worry about them slipping and falling. I also worry about their general safety and comfort,” Willis said. 

She also says she’s worried that this may cause her to lose clients.

“I can see people finding somewhere else with a more convenient parking place to go,” Willis said. 

The city is also building multiple roundabouts in the area.

“There’s frequently accidents there because there’s not a clear direction of how to enter and exit. And then you can’t really escape it from any direction. You’re going to run into a roundabout,” Willis said. 

Willis says the construction also affects her personally

“I go to the Pinnacle Hills neighborhood and do a U-turn there versus pulling out because I can’t see from that direction. so it’s kind of like guessing if you’re going to get hit or not,” Willis said. 

The road construction is affecting another business in Rogers. 

“It’s kind of making people avoid that area so that’s not the best for me and my location over there right now,” Sherry Puttkammer, owner of The Dotted Pig in both Uptown and Downtown Rogers.

She says although she’s still getting customers, she is noticing that some people no longer want to come inside to shop.

“We have customers sometimes that maybe want to give a curbside service because they can’t find a place to park or they spend too much time in traffic getting from one location to another,” Puttkammer said. 

Once the construction is complete, however, Puttkammer says she looks forward to better parking, better traffic flow, and having the boutique hotel across from her location in Uptown. 

“Having tourists come in and being right there on the property that are going to want to shop, that’s going to be a benefit when they’re done,” she said. 

Willis also says she likes seeing the area grow but wishes the city would be more responsive to the concerns of local businesses.

“I don’t like that they don’t seem to take our concerns and the fact that our businesses could and did suffer for a couple of weeks until they allotted slightly more spacing,” she said.