Traders in Oadby are looking forward to work finishing on an improvement scheme which they say has hit their takings.
Earlier this year The Parade became a one-way street with parking spaces removed and bus stops shifted.
The work, which will continue for about three months, involves repaving the whole area.
Some traders have said the area has been a "ghost town" during the recent months.
Hussein Hassaanali, who owns Quality DIY & Hardware in The Parade, said takings at his shop had dropped by 70 per cent.
He said: "Business has been down a lot and people have been complaining about the inconvenience - some are saying they don't want it to be done and that it's not necessary.
"But I can see some attractive changes and new people are already coming here and they're loving it.
"It's always going to affect businesses when they do something like this. But hopefully it's going to be worth it in the long term."
Emma Richards, who works at Osbournes Stationers was not so sure the gain would balance the pain.
She said: "Our customer count has gone down a lot and I don't really think it's going to make much difference when it is done.
"The problem is that people can't park where they used to."
Trishna Solanki, manager of the Moon Salon, said: "I think it's affected all the businesses along here because people are fighting for parking spaces and a lot of customers find they're running late for appointments.
"For the elderly clients who get the bus it's been an inconvenience because some of the bus stops were moved."
Pedestrians were also concerned the work was not going to be worth all the bother.
Beryl Bomfield, 69, of Stoneygate, who gets the bus to Oadby to shop, said: "I've had to walk to another bus stop and there aren't many people around.
"I don't think it's going to be worth it for all the disruption it's caused."
Adrian Bradbury, 67, who regularly walks to Oadby from his home in South Knighton, said: "I'd say the number of people around has been down by about a third.
"I just wish they'd gone the whole hog and pedestrianised the road."
The paving has now been completed in The Parade and the next work will be to install bins, benches and trees.
The work, which also includes installing bins, trees and benches, is due to be done by early November and The Parade will become a two-way road again.
Peter Osborne, Leicestershire County Council cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "We have worked closely with local businesses from the earliest stage to ensure so that the needs of retailers were considered when we were scheduling the work to minimise the disruption as far as possible.
"When significant construction works of this nature take place in the heart of a community, there is inevitably going to be some unavoidable disruption, however, we are keeping an open dialogue with traders in the town to reduce the impact of the work to them wherever possible.
"The feedback from businesses and the public has so far has been very positive and we are looking forward to finishing the project by early November, in time for the busy Christmas shopping season when shoppers and visitors to the area will be able to enjoy the pleasant, high quality shopping environment."
