West End restaurateur worried planned roadwork will hurt business after 'ghost town' last year

The construction hasn't started yet, but a restaurant owner in Winnipeg's West End who says he lost half his business due to roadwork last summer is already worried about what this season could hold.

"It was just terrible. It was almost as a ghost town," said Denesh Bahadoosingh, who owns Tropikis restaurant on Ellice Avenue.

Bahadoosingh says a major road construction project on Ellice last year made it hard for customers to get into his restaurant, costing him thousands in lost revenue.

The second half of that project is slated to start in the next few weeks, and Bahadoosingh said customers are already asking him about potential problems getting in.

"It was like a mass confusion," Bahadoosingh said. "You need to get better signage, you need to get pedestrians and merchants and customers knowing where to cross and what to do."

A spokesperson for the City of Winnipeg said there's no specific start date for the work right now, because workers need to wait for the ground to thaw. But the city issued one-month notices to businesses in the neighbourhood about the upcoming work on April 21, and it's expected to start over the next few weeks.

The project will include completing the remaining roadway and sidewalk reconstruction on Ellice between Arlington and Dominion streets, and the completion of major concrete pavement rehabilitation, curb and sidewalk renewals on Ellice between Dominion and Erin Streets.

"The overall goal of the project is to restore the surface road to good condition, make improvements to the right-of-way such as traffic signals, pedestrian crossings, sidewalks, etc., and improve the ride for the public," the spokesperson wrote in an email.

'We all have to pay our bills'

Bahadoosingh said it's difficult to plan ahead for the disruption. The place there's room for cuts is to staff, and he doesn't want to have to do that.

"Biggest worry is paying the bills. We all have to pay our bills," he said.

During construction, the city says Ellice Avenue from Arlington Street to Dominion Street will be restricted to one lane of traffic eastbound with no side street or back lane access north of Ellice.

Parking will be reserved for businesses off Ellice Avenue on Burnell Street, Banning Street and Lipton Street seven days a week during the times of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The first three spaces will be reserved on each street.

Ellice Avenue from Dominion Street to Erin Street will be restricted to one lane of traffic in each direction with side street and back lane access.