'It's terrible': Some Montague business owners feeling the pain from 2nd summer of roadwork
'It was kind of a punch to the gut,' owner says of learning road work would continue
Some businesses in Montague have been seeing fewer customers recently, blaming a second straight summer of roadwork for the loss of shoppers in the eastern P.E.I. community.
The P.E.I. government began work on June 20 on a stretch of road just north of the Down East Mall. The pavement is being milled and only a single lane of alternating traffic can get by at a time, with the project scheduled to end by July 31.
"The work includes constructing left-turn lanes on Route 4 and Robertson Rd, repaving, stormwater system replacement, constructing an active transportation trail and signalizing the intersection," the province said in a notice on its website.
It feels like déjà vu to Darren Dingwell, owner of the restaurant Dinger's Dive. He said sales this past winter outpaced revenue from last summer because the usually busy season was so bad due to road construction. Now he's dreading another dip.
"Last year was tough, with the roadwork construction that was taking place. [It] was really hard on us, and it wasn't looking that great, winter was coming, close to Christmas, and then something changed — and it wasn't the GST… break," he said.
"People just started coming, and [the] sales went up, so our sales in January were better than the sales in July the previous year. That's just unheard of in this industry."
Appreciating the support from local diners, Dingwell was looking forward to the weather warming up, until he heard about the new round of road construction.
"It was kind of a punch in the gut, if I'm honest, because I thought, 'Here we go again,'" he said.
Now that the work is underway, he said the disruption seems even worse than last year's.
Dingwell said the ongoing work is making people avoid Montague, which is the largest community in the amalgamated municipality of Three Rivers.
"It's terrible. People are bypassing Montague. They're not coming into Montague during the day at all because of the roadwork that is taking place," he said.
Dingwell said he is not the only one in the area dealing with this problem, saying others have even considered relocating.
"I've heard businesses talking about moving to Stratford because of this, because of the mismanagement that happens in the town, which is sad," he said.
Frank Dourte, the manager of The Turning Point Health Food Store, said he is able to see the toll of lost customers with a glance at his inventory system.
"The main loss of our business is during the lunch hour," he told CBC News.
Dourte said he usually gets a lot of business professionals shopping in his store during their lunch break. Now that trade has shrunk, given the extra time it takes to get in and out of the Down East Mall.
"We're not getting that traffic any more because they only have half an hour to an hour for lunch and they just don't have enough time to come here and do what they need to do," he said.
"Three weeks ago, it took me 20 minutes just to get out of the mall parking lot, so it is affecting [us]."
Town's response
Three Rivers Mayor Debbie Johnston said last year's roadwork was a town project, but this year's construction is in the hands of the province.
She said the town's chief administrative officer is in talks with the provincial department responsible in an effort to give businesses some relief.
"Our CAO has been in touch with Transportation [and] Infrastructure... almost on a daily basis, trying to, you know, see if there is any way to avoid as long a delay as there has been."
Johnston said she is urging locals and tourists alike to visit and shop at the businesses affected by the ongoing construction despite potentially longer wait times.
"Every business in Three Rivers is important," she said. "I really do feel for the businesses. I wish there was more that I could do, but as I said, it's a provincial project...
"They are the backbones of our community, small business, and I'm going to ask, even if it takes 10 minutes longer, to please try and do the best you can to support these businesses."
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With files from Gwyneth Egan