Houston Marathon impact: How roadways, businesses affected
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- There are big changes to the Chevron Houston Marathon course this year. For business owners along the new course, it may be a great opportunity that money can't buy.
"The Village is kind of a spotty area for parking anyway. It's really mellow on Sunday's. So the fact that a marathon is on Kirby doesn't worry me terribly," says Seneca Garcia of El Paso Imports.
A long stretch of Kirby is a new addition this year to the Chevron Houston Marathon. 25,000 runners will hit the streets starting at 7:00 Sunday morning. And more than 200,000 fans will cheer them on. Because of construction, organizers had to make some pretty major changes.
"We are moving our start line up to the corner of Congress and San Jacinto. We'll be on beautiful Inwood for the first time off of West Gray to Kirby in the early part of the course," says Houston Marathon Committee Executive Director Wade Morehead.
Seneca Garcia is a manager at El Paso Imports in Rice Village. The shopping center will surely see fewer cars than normal while the road is closed. Garcia's store doesn't open until after most of the runners will likely have passed through, but he's looking at the marathon as free publicity.
"...might be some extra walk-in traffic, extra exposure. You never can predict what attracts people. But more people walking around certainly can't hurt," he says.
