Construction woes are hitting Winnipeg businesses hard, according to local owners.
“I can easily say $5,000 to $10,000 a week on sales lost,” said Chris Kirouac, manager at Dug & Betty’s Ice Creamery.
“There’s no street parking and like with the back lane, access to our parking lots been compromised for half the summer,” he added.
The creamery is located around Des Meurons and Marion where construction has been going on all summer. Kirouac said it is causing many customers to stay away.
“June 1st to November 1st is just too long. That’s like literally the whole time the snow isn’t on the ground, and that’s our whole, our whole season,” he said.
He said the construction is more than an accessibility issue as it is actually making the whole process of getting ice cream less appealing for customers.
“Dust is all flying around the air, covering their ice cream.”
Meanwhile, over on Academy Road where both sides are down to one lane, roadwork is running longer than one owner was initially told.
“It’s actually now two weeks and hopefully just two weeks and maybe, who knows, maybe they’re doing something else, but we’re not aware of it,” said Dorothy Vannan, owner of Grace & Company.
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“It was probably a few blocks before you can actually park and then walk and if you’re buying purchasing things, our store things are sometimes little heavier boxes.”
Vannon said it’s hard to plan staffing when the sales and timeline are so unpredictable, and she is not sure her shop could survive months of construction.
“I would have to close the store and just really put a big effort into online and free deliveries.”
Councillor Janice Lukes, who chairs the city’s public works committee, said compensation for lost sales likely won’t ever be in the cards in Winnipeg.
But she said they’re focusing on getting projects done as fast as possible and improving communication in a year with record roadwork totalling $159 million.
“I know it’s very frustrating, but someday we won’t have as much money that we do now,” she said.
“Sometimes we find delays in waiting for, let’s say, for hydro or the telecommunication company. It rains. We have to let the project dry out, so there’s a lot of variables that occur when a road is being reconstructed or fixed.”
Lukes told Global News the city imposes $5,000 a day fines when projects aren’t completed on time and offers bonuses when they are done ahead of schedule.
However, local businesses would like to see more done with regard to ensuring construction is done in a more timely manner.
“Just faster construction, like, it’s like they took the whole season, maybe better planning,” said Kirouac.
“You know, there are all sorts of places that people aren’t visiting because they just can’t find parking,” Vannon said.
Lukes said while the construction can be a nuisance, it is important for the city to do.
“This is record money that we’ve been having, and I think it’s important that we go as hard and fast as we can to get it done and fix the streets.”
— With files from Global’s Rosanna Hempel
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