An Algoma Street business manager says business is down 40 per cent since road work started on the busy Thunder Bay street.
One of the most frustrating parts of the construction that has at times left no road access to the businesses at the south end of Algoma Street is that there has been no compensation offered by the city, said Kerr Schmidt, manager of the Great Northwest Coffee Company.
“Yes, (the work) has to be done. I have to agree with that, but there is a certain way you could do it and make it better for the businesses,” said Schmidt, adding there are other Canadian cities that offer compensation for lost revenues because of road work.
“If I can show them concrete numbers saying my business has decreased by at least 40 per cent, there should be some financial compensation for that. I’m not asking for the full amount. It would just be a fair thing to do,” he said.
Schmidt said the city also circulated a letter to the area businesses stating there would be at least one lane of traffic open while the work was being done.
Brian Newman, project engineer for the City of Thunder Bay, said they had promised the businesses that there would be at least one lane open/
“Right now with the number of service connections we’re doing on the west side, it’s been somewhat impossible to do that,” he said. “We’ve done about 12 services in 100 metres, which doesn’t allow for much material left when you’re open-trenching.”
Newman said they initially thought they could keep one lane open throughout the duration of the project.
“Between the contractor and our engineering group, we just decided it’s just not safe,” he said, adding they are trying to reopen the southbound lane by the end of Monday.
That lane will remain open with periodic closures. Newman said as they move down the street closer to Bay Street, they should be able to keep a lane of traffic open regularly.
In the meantime, they are grading the back lanes, which give access to the Algoma Street businesses.
Schmidt said both the Great Northwest Coffee Company and Mentor Computers, which is housed in the same building, have paid for signage at both ends of the laneway.
“We’re still open,” he said.
The construction on Algoma Street from John Street to Bay Street is expected to wrap up by Oct. 31.
