An owner of a Regina business is fed up with ongoing construction nearby that he says has affected customer traffic and access to parking.
Mike Smider, owner of Queen City Vapes on 11 Avenue and Halifax Street, is upset there has been construction for two years around his business.
“It started in 2021 with a road closure to demolish the old building that was there,” he said. “Lack of parking is the biggest concern. Customers can’t access (Queen City Vapes) at times because of equipment in the middle of the street … it’s gone on for so long that it seems like folks have just given up on me.”
He says business has been slow despite his advertising efforts and pushing social media posts.
“Folks that have come to me since I started back in 2014 have moved on to other places because they can’t access my business,” he said. “Because of the lack of business that I’ve had, obviously, revenue hasn’t been great, so I can’t afford to pay anybody, barely afford to pay myself. I’ve had to lay off employees and run the show myself six days a week.”
Smider has been in constant contact with the City of Regina and feels there’s been a lack of communication.
Brianna Solberg, the director of Provincial Affairs with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), said they have heard from many concerned business owners on this issue of construction that affects them in many ways.
“Essentially, customer traffic is deterred because there may be limited parking; the noise, and the dust can be deterrents. Many business owners see decreased revenue during periods of construction, and it’s concerning,” she said.
“But ultimately there’s little they can do, and that’s why CFIB has been calling for municipalities across Canada to introduce construction mitigation plans.”
CFIB is asking for business owners to be consulted in the process leading up to a construction project so that they are not surprised by the impacts and can plan accordingly.
Solberg said the project on Halifax Street has dragged out quite a bit longer than expected.
“Making sure that projects are completed within a strict timeline and having penalties in place for construction work that goes beyond its expected end date is really important in order to hold the contractors accountable and to ensure that the impact on business owners is limited,” she said. “The cherry on top of a good construction mitigation policy would be a compensation program to actually provide grants to business owners who have seen revenue losses due to public infrastructure work.”
The City of Regina stated in an email response that construction on the new Regina Police Service Link building and Headquarters West building renovations are nearing completion and are planned to open this June.
“The City acknowledges that the construction activity related to these facilities have created some challenges for nearby businesses,” according to the statement. “A number of communication methods have been used to inform these businesses, and the local community, of upcoming construction activities, and communication has been ongoing through construction.”
The City added that renovations to the Headquarters East building will begin in Q3 2023 and are anticipated to be complete in 2025.
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