A new study from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) shows 70 per cent of Canadian small businesses say they’ve experienced disruptions in some form, including financially, from construction projects within the last five years.
READ MORE: Busy Flamborough Hwy 6 intersection to get traffic lights
The CFIB report says small businesses lost on average 25 per cent of revenue due to construction.
Local business owners, many who are still recovering from the pandemic, are asking for financial help from the province to stay open.
Business owners on Garner Road in Ancaster say that has been their experience since city construction started back in May.
Todd Bennett, co-owner at Bennett’s Apples & Cider says they are “probably about 20-30 per cent down in sales. The drive by customers there’s definitely some sales down because there are less cars driving by.”
READ MORE: Waiting and triage area of St. Joe’s ER department moves during renovations
The construction on Garner Road started at the beginning of May and is expected to finish at the end of November meaning it’s about a 6 month timeline for this project to be completed.
Julie Kwiecinski with CFIB says 4 major issues affect small businesses during construction. “Congestion, dust, debris, customers and staff not being able to access the business so parking issues, delivery and logistics.”
Greg Dunnett with the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce says construction zones are one of the many factors that affect smalls businesses in the region.
READ MORE: GTHA Metrolinx services to be affected if CN and CPKC strike
“The accumulation of all of these issues whether it’s construction mitigation, community health and safety, whether its increased interest rates, when you compound all of those together it’s definitely having a negative impact on our small business community,” Dunnett said.
The City of Hamilton will host a public meeting on Aug. 22 to discuss solutions to improve traffic and transit on Garner Road and Highway 403 which could mean more construction is on the way.