Concerns are mounting regarding the proposal to close off a portion of the downtown alley between Hanson and Hawkins streets.

The initial anxiety was raised by Otelina Sanchez of Sanchez Cantina. More concerns have been filed with city hall by the owners of The Deli and two home owners whose Hawkins Street property backs onto the alley.

In light of the new concerns, Coun. Dan Boyd asked for and received support at council’s meeting last Tuesday to postpone the decision on a request from Narrow Gauge Contracting. The company is seeking to have a portion of the alley closed to traffic for almost a year.

The matter is scheduled to go back before council June 3.

Narrow Gauge says the closure is required to accommodate the construction of the new six-storey condominium complex currently underway.

The closure is needed for the storage of some siding material, along with providing room for man lifts required for the installation of the siding, Narrow Gauge has indicated to the city.

Sanchez raised her concern before council last week. She suggested that closing the portion of the alley directly behind her cantina would impede her plans to build a new deck and relocate her garbage bins from the front of her restaurant to the back.

In an interview last Thursday, Sanchez said she’s been assured by city engineer Wayne Tuck that Narrow Gauge has said it will be able to accommodate her schedule.

But owners of The Deli and property owners say the closure would create an unsafe and inconvenient restriction on traffic flow, and perhaps untenable congestion.

It would force the many freight trucks that use the alley to deliver supplies to back out onto Second Avenue, across a busy sidewalk with very little visibility after they’ve made their deliveries.

Having five-tonne delivery trucks, fuel trucks, compost trucks and others having to regularly back out into heavy traffic on Second Avenue is inherently not safe, they suggest.

“Having the lane closed, again, will create a bottleneck as well as a real potential for accidents,” says a letter to city hall last week from The Deli’s Larissa Shipman and Vienna Organ.

“We cannot be in support of the closure of the lane, as it would highly affect business operations, as well as create a real risk factor for all involved with the use of this laneway.”

The Deli owners suggest the city consider closing a portion of Third Avenue from the alleyway to Hawkins Street to accommodate the construction needs.

Blocking the alley, they insist, would have a negative impact on many aspects of their business.

Shipman explained last Thursday the conflict already surfaced earlier last week when a delivery truck was unable to exit onto Third Avenue because the alley was blocked by a truck delivering a load of concrete.

Hawkins Street residents Scott and Rosyln Wilson said the proposed closure would affect them personally, and create a traffic problem in general for those who rely on the alley.

If there’s a truck in the laneway making a delivery, they wouldn’t be able to leave in their personal vehicle until the alley is clear again because they wouldn’t be able to exit onto Third Avenue, the Wilsons point out in their letter sent to the city this week.

The letter said several residents who use the alley for parking are in the same boat.

“Several different companies do deliveries in that back lane, particularly to The Deli,” the Wilsons write.

“Also the GWM dumpster truck, Superior Propane and fuel oil trucks all use this lane for deliveries.

“As all these are straight trucks with no turnaround available to them, all these vehicles will have to back out onto 2nd avenue to leave the lane…. a significant traffic issue.”

If the lane closure must go ahead, they suggest, the city should install a concave mirror at the alley entrance to assist drivers in navigating the blind spots while backing out.

The Wilsons suggest that if the closure goes ahead, parking should be prohibited in the two-hour parking stalls along Second Avenue between the alley and the Hanson Street lights to assist with visibility.