Stony Plain Road business in Edmonton faces construction headache – Edmonton

Businesses along Stony Plain Road in Edmonton say customers are having difficulty maneuvering around the Valley Line West LRT construction to get to their shops. So, one restaurant owner took matters into his own hands.

Theo Psalios, the owner of Little Village on Stony Plain Road and 149 Street, posted a map on the restaurant’s social media directing drivers on how to park by his business.

“You have to do lots of loops through the residential units,” Psalios explained.

Psalios said since construction began at his front door, he’s been losing foot traffic into his restaurants. He said it makes it even more challenging when the traffic patterns on the roads change as roadwork continues.

“That’s fine, it needs to get done for the purpose of the construction. But nobody knows how to get around anywhere,” he said.

He’s calling on the city to provide more signs and clear instructions.

Ward Nakota Isga Coun. Andrew Knack believes it shouldn’t be up to the business to keep in touch with city officials and contractors regarding construction statuses.

Instead, it should be the other way around.

“If businesses aren’t feeling like that’s good enough right now, we have to step up our game,” Knack explained.

Knack says most parts of the LRT construction project are on time. Road work is the only portion that faces delays.

Ongoing work on the road has been a source of frustration of area residents and businesses. That’s why Knack said he put forward a motion to accelerate LRT construction.

However, to finish construction at various points more quickly, several major intersections will be shut down for weeks at a time.

The plan will see Stony Plain Road closed at 124 Street for six to eight weeks at the start of the construction season.

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Where the road intersects with 156 Street would also be shut down at that time, but for 10 to 12 weeks.

Then in July, the 142 Street intersection would be closed for seven to nine weeks, with the goal of completing the Stony Plain Road construction work by September — while the 149 Street intersection would be closed from September to sometime in late November.

The city committee has voted unanimously to move forward.

“Council has made a decision to accelerate that construction so that this year is the last year of road construction,” Knack explained.

“There’s still going to be some impact. Once the roads are done, at least then traffic can seamlesly flow through the area,” he added.

Bruce Ferguson, the City of Edmonton’s branch manager for LRT expansion and renewal, says the city and Marigold Infrastructure have created resources to help businesses adjust to construction.

“As soon as Marigold became aware of Little Village’s concerns, they contacted them to provide additional information, including a map with all available accesses to the business and a construction toolkit,” Ferguson said in a statement.

“As requested by Little Village, Marigold is also working on additional wayfinding signage for the businesses in the plaza.”

Ferguson adds that any businesses along the construction site should contact the city and Marigold Infrastructure at lrtprojects@edmonton.ca or public@marigoldinfra.ca.

Psalios hopes the construction is worth it.

“When this project is done I hope that train is full of people,” he said.

“If we watch that train go by and it’s empty, it’s going to be very upsetting.”

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