Lake Dallas business owners want more visibility amid construction

The city of Lake Dallas placed new signs to let drivers know businesses remain open during construction.

Six weeks after a home explosion, Lake Dallas business owners say their concerns extend far beyond ongoing Atmos work in the Denton County town.

They hope city leaders can help navigate customers with clearer communication and visibility to help keep small businesses afloat.

Richard Lox owns Legacy Boxing, which he says is far busier outside right now than inside.

“Yeah, I've done a lot of just sitting here, waiting or hoping that someone shows up,” Lox said.

The Lake Dallas gym, which includes a retail space, sits in the middle of two ongoing construction projects near Hundley Drive and Lakeview Drive.

One of the projects, which includes infrastructure improvements to water and sewer lines, along with storm drainage upgrades the Denton County town knew were coming, and started in March.

The other began after Atmos crews started repairing natural gas lines after a home explosion on March 19 that severely injured a woman inside.

The cause of the blast remains under investigation.

“It shook the roof of this place,” Lox said. “It was pretty scary, I got all my boxers out.”

Lox says the ensuing six weeks have brought a lot of uncertainty with reduced foot traffic and cancelled trainings, he believes in large part because of the difficulty navigating many city streets.

“We've been just trying to deal with that aftermath since then,” Lox said.

Kevin Lively owns Mrs. Lively’s Cajun Connection, and says the impact of road closures, detours and changing signage has been significant.

“I've had customers call me on the phone and say, Kevin, I'm trying to get to you, I can't get to you,” Lively said. “When you can't get those customers down here. It's a major, major impact on being able to stay in business.”

Lively and other business owners met with Lake Dallas city leaders asking for help with better visibility to let customers know they’re open.

Lake Dallas city manager Luke Olson told NBC-5 the city is working to be responsive to residents, citing a push to update and promote the existence of a website for updates on the city contracted infrastructure projects.

"We were aware of the upcoming road project and invested significant time planning to minimize disruptions to the community," Olson said in a statement. "However, the emergency response by Atmos was unplanned and has contributed to increased congestion in the roadwork area and surround neighborhoods."

"We ask for your patience and understanding as we move forward with one of the largest road projects in Lake Dallas."

In addition, the city placed new large yellow signs along Hundley Road and Shady Shores Boulevard listing a variety of businesses and shops that remain open.

Lox hopes the new signage helps, unsure of how many more hits Legacy Boxing can take.

“This is part of my family, and I want to stay here,” Lox said.