MONTREAL — Ginette Pelletier has worked as a naturopath on St-Denis Street for the past 20 years, during which time she has built a loyal clientele. Recently, however, her customers have started bringing their business elsewhere.
“My customers, they don’t want to come because they have no place, you know, no parking,” said Pelletier.
That’s because the City of Montreal is reworking the water and sewage systems on the piece of road between Duluth Avenue to the south, and Marie-Anne Street to the north. New lamp posts and traffic lights will also be installed.
Construction on the east side of the street will continue until July, before moving to the west side. One lane will remain open to traffic in either direction during the duration of the job.
While merchants along this stretch agree that the work is much needed, it’s having devastating consequences on their businesses.
“I need money to live, for my life,” said Pelletier, adding she’s finding it hard to make ends meet. “So when they cancel, I have nothing. No money, nothing.”
Pelletier is now looking to move her business somewhere else, and it seems others have had the same idea. A stroll along the affected stretch of St-Denis shows scores of ‘for rent’ signs in store-fronts.
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Merchants aren’t the only ones being affected by the road work. One resident told Global News that he wont be renewing his lease, and wants to get away from the construction as soon as possible.
“When they were doing it for the first two months, at least three nights in a week, I couldn’t sleep because you could hear the windows vibrating when they used to drill in the ground,” said Fahad Rizvi, who lives at the corner of St. Denis and Marie-Anne. “It’s too bad because it disrupts my sleep, it’s ridiculous.”
The city wasn’t available to comment on camera, but told Global News the work site is running on schedule. If that keeps up, construction will wrap up in November. In the meantime, the following map indicates alternative parking options:
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