A local development corporation is calling for restrictions along Huron Church Road to end as they continue to impact businesses along the busy border route.
Jim Shabban represents Westdell Corporation, which owns several commercial properties along Huron Church Road and on nearby Tecumseh Road.
"I like to see the roads opened up again," he says. "Community policing can handle the protests that were here. Let the traffic go and the people do. If a truck stops in the middle of the road, have a tow truck ready and take it out."
Police have restricted eastbound and westbound traffic along Huron Church Road since Feb. 13, in an effort to maintain the flow of vehicles to and from the Ambassador Bridge, after ending a near week-long protest on the road that halted traffic at the busy Canada-U.S. border crossing.
The Windsor Police Service announced Wednesday that a convoy of 6 to 7 trucks, allegedly bound for Windsor to block traffic again at the Ambassador Bridge, was intercepted on Highway 401 westbound, around 250-kilometers away from the city.
Shabban says the chief of police did a wonderful job intercepting the convoy.
"We have the intel, we have the knowledge, we don't need a barricade," he says.
Shabban joined Windsor West New Democrat MP Brian Masse and Windsor West New Democrat MPP Lisa Gretzky Friday in making a call for federal aid for businesses impacted by the situation.
He's is worried how this is already impacting potential business in the future.
"We're already being asked to redo all of our plans, redo everything we've talked about," says Shabban. "We've got tenants already in the works, what do we tell them now?"
Deputy Chief Jason Bellaire told a news conference Wednesday that they remain "very concerned" over the possibility of protestors returning to Windsor to try and shut down Huron Church Road and the Ambassador Bridge again.
The City of Windsor has informed businesses along Huron Church Road to track their estimated losses as a result of the traffic restrictions as the City seeks financial aid on their behalf from the federal government.