The city has started up work again on removing over a dozen red crosswalks from 124 Street.
The decision to remove the crosswalks was made last month after officials found the material used to paint them was deteriorating faster than expected and could become slippery.
The crosswalks were installed last summer between 102 and 111 Avenue at a cost of just over $100,000.
Officials initially said the removal would cost $40,000 and would take about a week but the method they tried first proved ineffective.
They’ve since shifted to the “grind and pave” approach.
On Wednesday, work started between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and, at times, reduced 124 Street to two lanes of traffic with no on-street parking.
One business along 124 Street reports a 50 per cent drop in sales since then.
"Obviously doing them all at once and lowering it to single-lane traffic on both sides might not have been the best way to go about it," said Eric Hanson, the executive chef and general manager of Prairie Noodle Shop.
"We're now seeing traffic backed up six blocks, half an hour to an hour to get across what's normally a five-minute drive, so it's definitely impacting us heavily."
The city has scheduled paving between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday but said business accessways will completed before shops open.
Traffic and parking is expected to be impacted until the work is finished Oct. 11.
