Construction on Sawmill Road not slowing down business, despite short notice

Stepping into St. Jacobs Country Gardens, your ears are greeted with the soothing sound of water features and a quiet radio hum. All you can see and smell are plants and happy faces, as well as a very tired cat.

With such a calming atmosphere, you'd be forgiven for not knowing about the tension that the workers have shared over the past few days.

Construction started on Sawmill Road between Arthur Street and Northfield Drive East on Tuesday, closing the road to through traffic.

Office manager Kathy Reynolds says the amount of notice they got — as the only business affected by the closure — was not ideal.

“We only got five days notice,” says Reynolds. “We did not get a lot of time to prepare for this, we're in the process of making signs so that people know they can come down Sawmill Road.”

Reynolds says Waterloo Region has been very helpful and listened to their concerns, explaining that the Region had initially planned to close the road entirely.

Instead, there is access to Sawmill Road from Arthur Street: one lane remains open past a sprawling patch of road closure signs.

In the middle of those signs is one that states “Open to Businesses,” which Reynolds says isn't enough.

It's hard to say, at this point, whether they'll see a deep impact from the construction and lack of through traffic.

“I don't think we've been affected yet, I think because of the fact that this was the Victoria Day weekend that passed,” says Reynolds. “It's only the 24th of May coming up. That's usually the deadline for a lot of growers and planters. So, no, I don't think we've seen anything yet, but I'm afraid we will.”

Andria Fromager is a grower and greenhouse manager. She says she's optimistic about the coming season.

“I think any change in accessibility makes you a little bit nervous,” says Fromager. “We've had a lot of feedback from our customers saying they'll make it work — because our seasons are so short, and they're dedicated to growing, and they like our products. We continue to have new customers every day. Hopefully people will continue to drive through the roundabout and find us, and we'll be here.”

 

The scene in St. Jacobs, where road work signs and pylons are sprawled across Sawmill at Arthur St. One sign acting as a reminder that local businesses are still open. @570NEWS pic.twitter.com/XudAQbmdlN

— Ben Eppel (@570beneppel) May 22, 2019

St. Jacobs Country Gardens is the only business affected by the closure… but they say they still continue to see new customers. @570NEWS pic.twitter.com/OyWYLSI2HE

— Ben Eppel (@570beneppel) May 22, 2019