REGINA – Visiting the Pumpkin Hollow Corn Maze in Lumsden is an annual tradition for many families, but the owners of the popular fall attraction say a proposed road closure will hurt their business.
“Our concern is loss of traffic. We get 90 per cent of our business that comes down that way,” said Kimberley Haring, owner of Pumpkin Hollow Corn Maze.
Frequent visitors of Pumpkin Hollow will know that the seasonal road to get there is notoriously difficult to drive on, especially following a rainfall.
“It’s not graveled. It gets slippery,” said Haring. “We’re only open for six weekends, out of the whole season so if we have to shut down because we’re worried of people not being able to go up and down the valley road, it is a big concern.”
Get daily National news
This year, Haring figures her business lost $80,000 in revenue because of not being able to open.
The RM of Lumsden is suggesting closing the road altogether, citing safety concerns, and is encouraging visitors of Pumpkin Hollow to take the alternate route.
“It’s not to a good standard,” said Kent Farago, the councillor for division 2. “The bridge that is at the end of the road passed its lifespan a long time ago. It was actually recommended to us by an engineering outfit in 2012, to shut the bridge down.”
The alternate route to Pumpkin Hollow comes from the east side of the valley and according to the RM, is only four kilometres longer when driving from Regina.
“I don’t even want to call it the alternate route. It’s the preferred route. It’s a better quality road all the way into Pumpkin Hollow,” said Farago. “That’s the road now currently that the buses take because this other route here (on the east side) is not safe for buses to go.”
The RM says it could cost upwards of $700,000 to upgrade the road on the west side, which is considered an unfeasible price tag.
A public council meeting is planned for November 6 at 1:00 p.m: “There’s a lot at stake. We’ve created a beautiful place for people to come visit and accessibility has always been an issue,” said Haring.
Pumpkin Hollow closed for the season on October 19.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.