Businesses on Sherbrooke Street are fed up with the parking ban in front of their stores. They believe that this measure is very harmful in the context of the work on the Louis Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel.
• Also read: Retailers are disgusted by bike lanes that are hurting their business
As of November 2022, people are no longer allowed to park on either side of Sherbrooke Street East between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. This temporary regulation, introduced thanks to the collaboration of several organizations, including STM and ARTM, was extended on December 4th.
Previously, parking bans alternated on both sides of the street depending on peak times.
“It was perfect. “Our customers had a parking space,” says Fleuriste Dames d'Alcantara owner Dany Gaudet. It happened overnight. We took steps to find out the reasons for this decision, but never received a response . It's a lack of respect for us and all other dealers.”
His business, founded in 1919, is separated from Sherbrooke Street by a sidewalk. She doesn't have a parking space in front of her window like many other dealers. And sales have been suffering for a year.
“That’s a loss of income between 5 and 15% depending on the month,” adds Ms. Gaudet. My customers have to park on the surrounding streets, but with the stickers and other restrictions this is anything but easy.
“She [ses clients] are still there, but I don't know how they do it. They are brave and loyal.”
A logistical puzzle
Across the street, at the Fredette Garage, the reserved lane causes another problem.
“It’s a big headache,” says owner Cynthia Fredette. For the past year I have had to hire three full-time employees to transport our customers' vehicles through the surrounding streets after maintenance or repairs.
“The neighborhood isn’t happy, but it’s the only option we have.”
Cynthia Fredette, owner of Fredette Garage on Sherbrooke Street East, is struggling with logistical issues.
In recent months, she has increased her efforts with decision-makers from the City of Montreal and the STM.
“We would like to see bus visitation numbers that explain this decision,” Ms. Fredette added. We would like to know whether this is a dead end or not.”
“Is it worth putting obstacles in the way of retailers for this ban? It's annoying. We don’t feel listened to or taken into account.”
Compared to Ms. Gaudet, her sales were not affected. However, all three hires came from company profits.
“These are people I wouldn’t hire if it weren’t for this situation. This is the end result [profits] Although this is affected, it has no impact on our customers’ bills.”
An increase of 12%
On the part of the STM and the ARTM we mention that this measure was introduced due to “the increased number of passengers”.
“We had problems with road congestion and bus delays,” says Séléna Champagne, public affairs consultant at ARTM. The extension of the operating hours of the reserved lane is a temporary measure.”
STM and ARTM add that this measure made it possible to maintain a timely service while limiting road congestion.
“In certain periods, time savings of up to 12% were observed. This allows us to transport thousands of public transport customers more efficiently on this road axis.
Can you share information about this story?
Write to us or call us directly at 1 800-63SCOOP.