Businesses in construction zones adopting creative strategies to keep sales up

REGINA – The city of Regina is spending $18 million on re-paving roads this year – that’s more than ever before.

While building better infrastructure is good news in the long-run, drivers and business owners near construction zones are left frustrated.

“For anybody to find out about us at this point, it’s not really feasible. You can’t see us, we’re completely caged,” said Beata Thompson, owner of Fresh and Sweet, a business right at the corner of Victoria Avenue and Albert Street.

To overcome that, they’ve come up with some creative ideas.

“We’re giving out cupcakes at rush hour because it’s miserable. The traffic is absolutely horrible, so let’s make someone’s day a little bit better and bring some awareness to our business,” said Thompson.

They will also be putting up posters to garner attention from drivers and passers-by, hoping customers will respond to their initiatives.

“Unfortunately you’re going to have to walk a block and a half, but you know, you’re going to feel way less guilty about eating that cupcake once you get here,” said Thompson.

While construction on Victoria Avenue and Albert Street is slated to continue until the end of summer, more big projects such as repaving Gordon Road are already getting underway.

“Sales are going to drop at least half, is my guess – probably worse,” said Mark Dyck, owner of Orange Boot Bakery.

And like other local businesses, he’s begun thinking of ways to get around what could be a difficult time for the bakery.

“Maybe we’ll set up a drive-thru window or a drive-by up the block or something like that for folks,” said Dyck.

While it may be a short-term inconvenience, the city says it will be well worth the wait.

“When they get past the frustration of the delay, they’ll see that good work’s being done and we have better streets and better infrastructure,” said Mayor Fougere.