The owner of the restaurant “Chez Alexandre” deplores a “lack of communication” between the City and the Fire Safety Service having forced the closure of his terrace on Friday, in the middle of the Grand Prix weekend, like several of his neighbors on the street Peel in Montreal.
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In an interview with TVA Nouvelles, Alain Creton explains with emotion that the worst thing, according to him, in this situation is not losing income linked to the Grand Prix, but being caught off guard in front of customers.
“Worse than losing money is losing face for something so stupid, ridiculous,” he says, on the verge of tears. It’s ridiculous. The grand prize is supposed to be emotion, kindness, fraternity.”
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Mr. Creton says that a general incomprehension spread among his clients at the sight of the numerous prevention agents on Friday.
“There were a lot of customers wondering ‘what’s going on, Mr. Creton?’ he says. That’s when they told us we were in violation.”
The owner explains that it was following a request from the City that he moved his terrace closer to his restaurant.
“We didn’t want to do badly,” he said. Initially we installed our terrace legally in relation to the fire department and subsequently people from the City came to see us to tell us that we were too close to the road, that there was truck traffic and therefore we need to put the terraces back closer.”
“By moving our terraces closer, all of a sudden, we find ourselves in default vis-à-vis the firefighters,” he adds. There is real confusion and a blatant lack of communication.”
Mr. Creton argues that if the parking spaces located in front of his business had been removed to allow truck traffic, this situation would not have occurred.
“At the beginning we offered them a very simple solution: there are eight cars that can park in front of Cours Mont-Royal,” he says. Put a parking ban in front of Cours Mont-Royal because we have a parking lot just down the street that is wide open. It would have been very simple for everyone.”
Some 18 tickets were handed out during the fire safety service’s Operation Sentinel on Thursday and Friday for a total of $23,600 in fines, as well as two restaurants and 4 terraces closed.
Watch his interview in the video above
