Construction workers continue to replace sewers on Preston Street, causing frustration for local businesses and accessibility issues for residents.
Businesses in Little Italy are grumbling and groaning as broken promises from the City of Ottawa have left construction on Preston Street driving away customers with no end in sight.
Frankie Papalia says his family is cringing as construction has caused walk-in business to slow at La Roma, their restaurant located at 430 Preston St., and brought the lunch rush to a near stand-still.
“People just don’t want to walk around when there is all that dust, noise, and jackhammers,” he said.
Lori Mellor, executive director of the Preston Street Business Improvement Area (BIA), says that residents and business owners are growing frustrated as the City of Ottawa has expanded the allotted time frame for the construction.
Mellor says problems began in 2007 when the city proposed a three-year sewer project to replace the 110-year-old pipeline that currently serves as both a storm and sewage pipe for the area.
After complaints from local businesses, the city and the BIA agreed to postpone the job until 2008 and condense the work into two years.
But now that the project has begun, Mellor says the BIA has been told the city has revisited plans to complete the job in three years.
The city was unavailable for comment as to why they changed their plans, but Mellor says they chose to relocate the funds that were promised to Little Italy.
Mellor says when the city approached them with these plans, the residents of Little Italy were promised one lane for traffic and one diagonal parking lane on the roads where the construction was to take place.
"They made a promise and they didn’t deliver,” Mellor said.
Businesses are not the only ones suffering from the prolonged construction. Caitlin Brown, a resident of Little Italy, says it is impossible to get around with Preston Street blocked off from Laurel to Albert Street.
“I have had to adopt a pedestrian lifestyle,” she said, noting that it takes her an extra 20 minutes to get anywhere. “I can’t rely on [the bus] to get me anywhere on time.”
To make matters worse, Mellor adds, Preston Street’s ancient sewer does not have the capacity any longer to act as a combined sewer – one that facilitates the flow of both sewage and rainwater.
On rainy days, she complains, the sewer dumps excess water not only into the Ottawa River but also in the basements of residents.
“Preston is located at the bottom of a hill. All the rain water runs right into that sewer during a storm.”
“The provincial government just gave the City of Ottawa $77 million to address overflowing sewers,” said Mellor, adding that Preston Street’s sewer is notorious for being one of the worst in Ottawa.
She says the city now wants to relocate the funds, a decision she believes breaks a promise made to the residents of Little Italy.
“It’s a disappointment and it’s yet another broken promise,” saod Mellor.
She says the BIA will force the city to see the mess they have left of Preston Street, and cause Larry O’Brien and his crew to live up their commitments – namely completing the unsightly construction along Preston by 2009 as promised.