The owner of a restaurant along Howard Avenue in Windsor is calling on the city to provide compensation for businesses impacted by a prolonged construction project.
Tommy's Bar-B-Q is located at 3031 Howard Avenue in the Roundhouse Centre, right across from Devonshire Mall, just off a section of Howard that's been the focus of a major construction project between the E.C. Row Expressway and Marantette Avenue.
Lane reductions and closures have impacted traffic flow and some access points during the construction.
The owners of the restaurant have launched a petition demanding compensation for affected businesses, which has already gathered over 200 signatures from concerned residents and customers.
The petition urges the City of Windsor to establish a compensation program for local businesses disrupted by construction.
Part owner of Tommy's Bar-B-Q, Christos Stoiantsis, says it would help small businesses suffering significant financial loss from the projects they have.
"It's been extremely challenging. We've suffered up to 40 per cent losses in our business," he says. "You can tell people are discouraged from travelling on the road. No one wants to even go down Howard Avenue."
Stoiantsis says they had more business during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to this.
"We have cut back some staff, and we have cut back several hours of staff due to the lack of patrons coming in throughout the construction; that's unfortunate," he says. "We value everyone in our staff, and we want to see everybody succeed and live comfortably. If we're not able to pay them, then we can't keep them."
Ward 9 Councillor Kieran McKenzie says this is necessary work that is going to lead to 'significant' infrastructure improvements from a traffic flow and safety perspective.
"I understand construction presents challenges for everybody, business owners included, in terms of transportation, logistics, and all those different things. It is also a necessary part of living in a community, rural or urban, where the infrastructure upgrades need to happen," he says.
Tommy's Bar-B-Q encourages other business owners and residents to join the call for fair compensation by signing the petition at the restaurant and standing up for Windsor's small business community.
The work that began in early April has included construction on the intersection of Howard Avenue and Division Road, which resulted in lane restrictions between the Devonshire Mall intersection and the Union Square Plaza intersection.
There has also been work on a new railway grade crossing on Sydney Avenue, along with street lighting, sidewalk, and multi-use trail improvements as part of the project.
The railway crossing on Howard Avenue between Division Road and South Cameron Boulevard was permanently closed as of April 14 for storm sewer upgrades along with road widening and reconstruction.
The city has said the $18-million reconstruction project along the Howard corridor should be completed sometime in November, in time for the holiday shopping season.