Chamber will market Sisters during project

The Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce is working on a marketing plan to help keep Sisters businesses vital through the disruptions of the Cascade Avenue rehabilitation project, which is now underway.

According to Chamber Executive Director Erin Borla the Chamber will continue its regional marketing to the I-5 corridor, adding marketing to Bend and Redmond to encourage Central Oregonians to visit Sisters. A lot of regional marketing will be done on the radio.

"We've focused a lot on 'Rediscover Sisters,' and I think we'll stay with that," Borla said. "We can't over-communicate that Sisters is a great place to stop."

The Chamber will provide business maps to visitors, and Oregon Department of Transportation Community Liaison Ann Fisher is also producing a map to help people find businesses on foot. Maps will be placed on A-frame signs on the streets during periods when portions of Cascade Avenue are closed to vehicle traffic. The signs will list what businesses are on each block.

Road closures will run in three-block phases, east-to-west from March 1 to the end of May. There will be pedestrian access to businesses at all times.

"There will be a lot of signage available that will showcase parking," Borla noted.

The Chamber is also working on bringing the community together for mutual support.

"We have funding from The Roundhouse Foundation to do four more block parties," she said. "The more we all come together and support each other, the more everybody is going to make it through and prosper through the project."

Borla is encouraging business owners to communicate with the chamber and with each other and seek help early if it is needed.

"If you need help, there are ways that we can help you," Borla said. "But don't wait till the last minute. Don't close yourself off and think that you have to fight this battle alone."

Downtown merchants have been extremely nervous about the potential impacts of the extensive construction project, which includes rehabilitation of the roadbed and significant sidewalk and streetscape work.

Borla believes the project will ultimately be beneficial to the community and to downtown businesses.

"In a perfect world, it will all go smoothly and be a tremendous asset for Sisters," she said.

In any case, the project is underway and Borla is focused on helping businesses make it through in good shape.

"Shovels are in the ground," she said. "We're in it; there's no turning back."