Plateau merchants stage mock business sale to protest parking regulations

MONTREAL — Dozens of shop owners on the trendy Rachel Street in the Plateau are staging a mock sale of their shops.

They’ve placed “for sale” signs on store front windows and doors to symbolize their frustrations with the borough for removing valuable street parking for shoppers.

“They’re afraid to come here,” Louis Lovsin, owner of restoration shop Piano Montréal, told Global News.

After being established on Rachel Street for forty years, Lovsin says he’s now considering moving out of the neighbourhood because of the lack of street parking.

READ MORE: Plateau merchants close their doors to protest tough parking rules

“We want to find another commerce. It’s getting disastrous here,” said Lovsin. “Maybe to Laval or Montreal North.”

The “for sale” signs take direct aim at borough mayor Luc Ferrandez for policies many believe have been crippling their bottom line.

Giorgio Sodano, one of the organizers behind the sign campaign says business has dropped fifty per cent at his pasta restaurant, La Maison des Pâtes Fraîches, since Ferrandez took power in 2009.

”It seems to be getting worse and worse,” Sodano said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It seems to be getting worse and worse," Sodano said.

Sodano says more than 150 parking spaces have disappeared since 2012, mostly to make way for a new bike path.

READ MORE: Montreal police operation encourages cycling safety in Plateau

He complains the borough has done very little to attract shoppers back.

But local councillors say the business troubles aren’t due to  limited parking but rather high commercial taxes and road construction.

”What’s really effecting the merchants is the ongoing construction sites,” said Christine Gosselin, a Plateau-Mont-Royal borough councillor. “It’s been ongoing since 2012”