Prolonged road closure worries downtown Stratford businesses

Road construction delays in downtown Stratford have local businesses concerned about their bottom lines.

Albert Street has been closed since mid-October. It was supposed to reopen before Halloween, but delays with contractors mean the street will remain inaccessible to vehicles until the end of next week.

Vendors say pedestrian traffic is down too – and it comes at a crucial time of year.

“For me visuals are everything,” says Ariana Poch, owner of the custom upholstery shop Pistolnik Designs. “That’s why the windows are so important because you need to see my products.”

Poch says because road closed signage is positioned directly in front of her store, many people assume it’s closed.

Down the street, the owner of Apt. Six Skin Care agrees the impact of the construction has been significant.

“I would say retail sales dropped to about one-fifth of what they normally are,” says Brett Gillespie.

He says it’s an important time for downtown businesses, with festival season winding down and holiday shopping heating up.

“I would say we do 60 per cent of our business for the entire year in the last two months of the year,” he explains. “So having the street closed in the last two months of the year is just devastating.”

Apt. Six Skin Care owner Brett Gillespie says retail sales have dropped to about one-fifth of what they normally are. (Jeff Pickel/CTV Kitchener)

Both Gillespie and Poch say they’re not upset with the city, but they want to remind shoppers the sidewalk is open.

“I understand [there’s] got to be construction, I really do,” Gillespie says. “But we are open for business even though the road’s closed. Come down and take a look.”

Road closure signs are seen on Albert Street in downtown Stratford on Nov. 8. Construction started on Oct. 12. (Jeff Pickel/CTV Kitchener)