Griffintown residents have a tough time getting around — almost every street seems to have a closed sidewalk, detour or cordoned off construction zone.
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A recent announcement that three condo garages will close this month has many up in arms.
“It looks like the city hasn’t planned any of the work well,” said one driver pulling out of a soon-to-be-closed garage on the corner of Shannon and William.
City workers are doing massive infrastructure work on a water retention basin on William and Ann streets.
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Some 650 total parking spots will be inaccessible as a result of the closures.
The city is offering up a backup lot at the corner of Seminaire and Ottawa, but it only contains room for 375 cars.
After an uproar on social media, the city came up wtih a different solution — stagger the closures.
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“We just wanted to change the sequencing so everyone can fit in that parking space,” said Coun. Craig Sauvé.
Yet residents are still bracing for problems. The lot isn’t covered, making it susceptible to snow.
The process of determining who can park there also isn’t clear — it’s apparently being handled by condo security using paper tickets that could easily be forged.
“We’re concerned it could be abused,” said William Street resident Ali Fadhil.
The first phase of closures will last from Nov. 21 to Nov. 24.
The second wave, at Fadhil’s garage, starts on Nov. 26, but officials have yet to determine when it will reopen.
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