Fredericton businesses lament roadwork delays

Business owners in Fredericton are growing increasingly frustrated by roadwork projects that are dragging on well past target completion dates.

"I wish I would have moved somewhere else for six months," said Chad McGarity, owner of the Warehouse Barbershop on Regent Street, between Brunswick and George streets.

McGarity estimated construction work on that block has cost the Warehouse about $25,000 in lost business. He's sole proprietor, but five barbers also work in the shop independently.

The shop opened four years ago and business had been growing steadily until the last six months, he said.

At one point during the construction work, the Warehouse was completely surrounded by fencing and the front sidewalk was dug up.

McGarity said he had to scramble and take the initiative to make alternate arrangements for access and parking. He had to purchase signs to let people know his business was still open. He had to buy a program to text customers with updates ahead of their appointments.

He even paid parking tickets for a few upset customers.

"We missed our school rush," he said. "We missed so many opportunities. And we don't know what to expect next."

The street has now opened to vehicle traffic but work isn't done yet on his driveway.

"Seven weeks over the planned deadline is not acceptable," said Bruce McCormack, manager of the business group Downtown Fredericton Inc.

"It's very difficult on business," he said.

Many people opted to avoid the downtown area, said McCormack.

"Getting them back will be a major job."

This summer saw a repeat of what happened during previous phases of work on Regent Street at Queen and King streets, said McCormack. Bell decided an underground concrete box at the Brunswick Street intersection needed to be replaced, so a portion of work that was supposed to take a week or two ended up taking six weeks, he said.

The issues aren't isolated to the downtown area.

Mike Babineau owns Cannon Cross Pub on Riverside Drive.

It's only been attracting "a fraction" of its previous lunchtime crowd, because people don't have time to make their way through traffic during their lunch break, he said.

Cannon's Cross hasn't had a summer without business being disrupted by nearby construction work since he bought the place in 2017, said Babineau.

"People are tired of this," he said. "We need to see things a little better."

Babineau said he thinks it might be better for the city to take on fewer projects and focus resources to get them done quicker.

The business community has a few other suggestions to speed things up in the future.

For a number of years, Downtown Fredericton Inc. has been asking the city to get construction crews to work evenings and weekends, said McCormack.

McGarity seconded that idea.

"It seems like everything that is done in Fredericton takes an extra long time," he said.

He wonders whether construction companies face any fines for delays and if not, why not.

Staggering projects would also help, instead of having three "main veins," closed at once, said McGarity.

The barber shop owner is frustrated by the perception that city staff seem indifferent to the impact of roadwork on businesses.

He described communication from the city as "absolutely brutal."

Babineau recalled projects 10 years ago, when he first bought Cora's restaurant.

"They'd come and close the street down on a weekend without letting anyone know."

In his opinion, there has been improvement since then.

Asked to respond to the suggestions, the city said in an emailed statement that it is exploring the viability of night construction, but "several logistical challenges," would need to be overcome.

"These include noise and light pollution when working in residential areas, availability of workers and ability to ensure safe worksite conditions for crews and the public and the availability of materials after hours."

On the possibility of fines for late completion, the city said it has done that in the past but suggested in this case it wouldn't have helped because companies can't be punished for unexpected or unknown underground issues. 

When it comes to staggering projects to avoid many main road closures at once, the city said it tries to do that as much as possible, but also has to factor in "the condition of critical infrastructure and any safety improvements that need to be addressed."

To the idea of holding off on some projects in order to focus on getting others done faster, it said it's trying to replace worn out infrastructure and adapt for climate change in a way that should hold up with no further disruption for a couple of decades.

The city said it communicates its roadwork plans as early as possible and gives weekly updates but it's possible someone was missed. The statement said businesses should get in touch directly to avoid being left out in the future.