A portion of Notre-Dame Street West in Montreal has been under construction for a year and it hasn’t been easy for some businesses.
The road work will eventually upgrade pipes, sewers and sidewalks.
To help business owners, pedestrians and motorists deal with the repairs, artwork has been on display since the summer.
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One of the pieces is a garland of orange cones that sits above a butcher shop near the corner of Greene Avenue. The road in front of the shop sits dug up.
The idea came from a not-for-profit art group looking to spruce up a construction site.
They hope the ironic art will add humour to the lives of those dealing with the effects of road repairs.
“It is funny,” resident John Hodges said. “I would say it’s hilarious actually.”
For coffee shop owner Katie Morton, the orange cones on display may be funny but the hit on business is not.
“Nobody wants to walk by here anymore because it’s just terrible,” the owner of Kleine Shoppe said. “You really have to commit because I’m in the middle so you either have to go around and you can’t just walk across the street.”
The work is expected to finish up by November and it’s something the borough says was necessary.
“Some of the pipes were from like 1905, 1910, some of them Victorian Age, some of them made out of wood still,” Coun. Craig Sauvé said.
“We had to redo this eventually and it was becoming urgent.”