Tuesday, June 1, 2010 - Start of a New Month

Welcome to June on Dawson Road. With the start of a new month, it gives us the opportunity to evaluate the passage of time compared to the progress of  construction. The main area of construction is at the north end of Dawson Road between the Plaza at 86 Dawson and Speedvale Ave.  Other than this short stretch of road, the rest of Dawson Road was quiet all day.  Just before 1pm on Monday afternoon, I took a couple of photos to show you how quiet the traffic flow is.  See photos 998a and 999a.  Photo 998a is looking from my driveway, at Plants For All at 66 Dawson, southerly towards Willow Road and Photo 999a is looking north towards Speedvale Ave.  You can see there is no traffic congestion at all.  And that is the way it usually is.  So, plan your shopping or medical appointments and come on down.
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Bel-Air Construction of Cambridge is the crew that is doing the actual work so far on the Dawson Road project. Bel-Air employs a team of over fifty operators, pipe layers, labourers, managers and administrators. Since 1980 they have been doing exactly this kind of work for projects in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Waterloo Region.  To this novice blogger, I think they are demonstrating professionalism in their work and consideration for the driving public and business operations.  You won't be delayed long on doing your business on Dawson Road.

Mid Monday afternoon they sprayed the construction lane to help keep the dust down.  That is working well.  Remember, as I outlined in an earlier post, we have one lane traveling north from Willow Road for the driving public (that's you), and one south lane for the construction equipment.  Come onto Dawson Road from Willow Road and travel slowly northward until you get to the clearly identifiable access point for the business you want.  It is that easy and it's working.
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At the start of today, the driveway to Balkan Auto Sales and Service is closed off; but it doesn't look as though that will be for long.  The Dawson Road entrance to the CoffeTime plaza at the corner of Dawson and Speedvale is blocked off, see Photo 1012a.  So, access that plaza from the Speedvale Ave. entrance.  Every other business on Dawson Road is open and accessible.




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Attention Pedestrians : The boulevard in front of Guelph Medical Place is very narrow.  The Crews have solved the problem and ensured Pedestrian safety and efficient vehicle movement by laying out a temporary walkway from the Meridian Credit Union parking lot at the corner of Speedvale and Dawson to the entrance to Guelph Medical Place.  So, when you are walking, either north or south, watch for the signs and pavement markings (see Photos 1008a and 1009a) and you will easily and safely navigate your way to where you want to be.

Well, I think that is just about it for today.  If you have any thoughts about this information, please comment at the end of this post.  If you are a Dawson Road business, please ask your customers to check this blog regularly.  If you are a Dawson Road customer, thank you - we appreciate your business.

Monday, May 31, 2010 - end of the month and looking ahead

Good morning, another beautiful weather weekend. If you were out of town or right here on Dawson Road shopping on the weekend the weather was just right for it. I hope that some of you took advantage of the shops and businesses that I talked about on Friday that were opened Saturday and / or Sunday this weekend. If  so, please tell me about your experience. You may comment at the end of this blog.

The construction work on Friday ended in front of the Plaza at 86 Dawson Rd. Work on Monday will start  between the two driveways on Dawson Road in front of the Plaza. At the start of the work day both driveways are accessible. Work is progressing towards Speedvale Avenue and as the day goes on the northerly access to the plaza will likely be closed. You will still be able to access the Plaza through the southerly entrance off Dawson Road.

The weather for today is supposed to be warm and sunny with a bit of cloud. Should be a good day for getting work done on the construction sites.

I am pleased that we are starting to get some hits on this blog site. The more hits we get the sooner we will show up on Google search and then the sooner we'll be able to reach and help more people to navigate the construction on Dawson Road.  If you are a business on Dawson Road please log on every day. If you have found this blog helpful, please log on everyday.

If you are a Dawson Road business or know a Dawson Road business that is not listed in our sidebar with the Web links, please contact me if you want to be included. You can reach me at Plants For All : e-mail at plantsforall@ody.ca , or phone me at 519-767-2161, or visit our shop at 66 Dawson Rd. Our hours are Monday to Thursday from 12:30 to 6 and Friday from 10 to 6.

While no one likes the delays caused by road construction, the construction crew on Dawson Road seems very conscientious about keeping traffic moving. In the course of my daily work and traveling to visit my plant clients I have to travel through several construction areas within Guelph on a regular basis. I can tell you with certainty, that the crews on this job site are doing a better job than most at keeping the road as smooth as possible and the accesses as clear as possible.  So, you can feel comfortable that you'll get into the businesses that you are looking for, and get out again safely and quickly.

Today is the last day of this month, and we optimistically look forward to tomorrow with the start of the new month. Continued progress in getting the work done and looking forward to seeing you on Dawson Road. Come on down.

Friday, May 28, 2010 - Another Week of Progress Behind Us

How come it often seems the short weeks feel like the longest?

Thursday was another long day for the construction crew, with work continuing to about 6 p.m.. Work on sewer pipes continued in front of the plaza at 86 Dawson Road. Long, sunny, dry days apparently are good for construction; and the crews took advantage of that. The southerly entrance to the plaza that was closed yesterday is now open. The heavy equipment has not quite cleared the entrance as of early morning, so if you're coming early you should still use the northerly entrance.

I had the opportunity to speak to several of the businesses Thursday evening. You'll notice a few more links to businesses in the right sidebar. Please take the time to check them out. I am learning that we have quite a diversification of businesses in a small stretch of Dawson Road.

In unit four of the plaza we have  Q B Café and Dining who specialize in Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine. This is a fairly new restaurant and they're working hard to accommodate your schedule. They are open seven days a week starting at 9 to 11:30 for breakfast, and 12 to a 9:30 for lunch and dinner. When you go in ask for Betty.

Right next door at unit five is my friend Bo at Hardsoft Computer with great prices on used computers and computer-related equipment and the technical knowledge to service and back them up. Hardsoft computer is open from Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. You can reach Bo at 519-763-0188 or by e-mail at Hardsoftcomputer@bellnet.ca.

On the links to businesses list in the sidebar you can see that I have added Payless Mattress, who are located in unit 6. Check out their web site to see what they offer and find their full-page ad in the Guelph Tribune and look for their money saving "Construction Special". Payless Mattress is open Monday, Thursday and Friday from 10 to 8; Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday from 10 to 6 and Sunday from 11 to 5. If you're looking for mattresses and beds give Sandrol a visit or phone them at 519-823-0929.

Wellington ortho & rehab are in unit 7 of the Plaza and you can see the link to their web page in the sidebar. Leah told me that they are open Monday to Thursday from 8 in the morning till  8 at night and Friday from 8 to 5. They offer integrated care with orthopaedic and rehabilitation medicine with physiotherapy and chiropractic and massage therapy. You can contact them by phone at 519-837-2020.

You can see by these brief summaries that many businesses offer extended hours and some are even open Saturdays and even Sundays. I hope by now that you get the picture that the traffic during construction is controlled and safe, but if you're still not comfortable with that, then think about coming later in the day or even on the weekends to these businesses. Feel free to phone these businesses before coming just to verify their hours.  Remember the construction usually winds up around four o'clock in the afternoon and they do not work on Saturday or Sunday, so it's pretty quiet on the street- come on down.

I have made contact with Communications Coordinator for the city of Guelph Information Services, Stacey Hare. We will be keeping each other aware of changes from the city's point of view and from what's happening on the ground here on Dawson Road.  Check my blog regularly and when I learn something new,  I'll let you know.

You can't find this blog on google search yet  and I understand it can take up to four weeks. Blogs get ranked partly based on their relevancy and because this is a new blog it doesn't have enough readers yet to rank. Google has set it to be pinged so the more often people go to it the more relevant it will rank.  So, you can help by checking it out regularly.

So once again the weather is great and we would love to see you on Dawson Road.  Today or on the weekend if you're rushing around or taking it easy, please make the time to do your business with the businesses of Dawson Road. Talk to you Monday.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

    Good morning Guelph - another beautiful summer day in spring.

Firstly, on Tuesday, May 25,  I told you that the contractors sprayed the excavated areas with water to suppress the dust. I have since learned that they may also apply calcium chloride for the same purposes. However it's being done, they are keeping the dust down.  To date it has not been an issue and for that we are thankful.

Wednesday was a quiet and productive day on Dawson Road for construction. The construction crew stopped their excavating directly across from the entrance to Guelph Medical Place at 83 Dawson Rd. Starting from this point they will continue on Thursday.

The plaza at 86 Dawson Rd has two entrances onto Dawson Road. The first entrance closest to Willow Road is now blocked off temporarily. No worries- just continue north past the front of the Plaza and turn left into the second entrance. Businesses in this plaza include - QB Café & Dining, Hardsoft Computer, AutoCool, Payless Mattress, Wellington ortho & rehab.

Guelph Transit has adjusted their route to accommodate the construction project. The route number on the bus is 22. The bus will travel north only. There is only one bus stop in the construction zone. Bus stop number 2211 is located about 50 feet north of the Guelph Medical Place entrance. F. Y. I. - the single cash fare for a bus ride in Guelph is $2.50, no change and no refunds.

Night time on Dawson Road is rather surreal in that regular activity is quieter than in non-construction periods.  We only have traffic going one way and I suspect that is the reason we don't have nearly as many cars and noisy pickup trucks speeding back and forth.  We have lots of construction equipment, large construction equipment, sitting motionless and silent.  You can appreciate the peace and quiet, knowing that at about 7am it will all roar to life again into an orderly chaos.

One caution about night time travel on Dawson Road.  I have noticed a couple of times that several of the marker pylons have been knocked over.  This seems to be happening sometime after 11 pm. These marker pylons are extremely important because they separate the northbound traveling lane from the southbound construction lane and also mark the access points to get off of the traveling lane to enter one of the businesses.

If you turn off of the traveling lane at a place other than the marked access points, your vehicle will drop about a foot down to the construction lane.  That could be dangerous, frightening and cause the need for expensive repair to your vehicle.  Please be careful.

But, now it's a beautiful, bright sunny day and traffic is under control, orderly and safe.

So today would be a good day for you to come down and tend to business with one of the fine businesses on Dawson Road.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010 - Midweek Already

One of the advantages of the Monday holiday is that before you know it, you're halfway through the week. The crews worked a little later yesterday. Today they will commence work on the sewer pipes in front of Orbis Property Management at 76 Dawson Road.

Yesterday was very hot and it looks like today will be the same. If the weather holds I expect it will be another long workday. You'll  notice on the sidebar to the right that I've posted links to Dawson Road businesses. I'll be adding more links when they become available to me. Check out these web sites and become familiar with some of the businesses we have on Dawson Road.

You are invited to leave comments on the bottom of each post, and I'd be interested to see them. In particular, I am looking for suggestions to improve this information to make it better for you.

We had a visit on Tuesday from Charles Groen, he is the on-site project inspector for Pitura Husson Limited. Pitura Husson is the City's consulting firm out of Richmond Hill and are directing this project and are the contract administrators for this project. Charles advised us that they will be erecting a sign on Dawson Road advising of the businesses that are open in the construction area. The City will provide access to these businesses during the construction period. I will post a copy of this sign to this blog as soon as it becomes available.

I have learned that the infrastructure work being done to replace the sewers and water mains is replacing services that were installed back in the 1950s.  After almost 60 years of service they need to be upgraded. There is a lot of history on Dawson Road relating to previous construction companies that helped build much of institutional Guelph. In fact, the building that we are located in was the former Welcon Construction, the company that built the old Guelph Hydro building at the corner of Dawson and Speedvale.

So it's Wednesday, and it's hot; but the traffic is light, so come on down, we'd be glad to see you.

May 25, 2010 - After the Long Weekend

Things are quieter on the construction work on Dawson Road than I had expected.  The crews are working on the sewer pipe installation in front of Roy-Al Rentals.  From there down to Willow Road is very quiet.

The City is conducting regular garbage pickup, which is good to see.  Because of the Monday, Victoria Day holiday, our garbage pickup was this morning and it seems to have gone well.

Guelph Transit is running a modified bus route with buses traveling north from Willow to Dawson.  I'll have more details on that later.

The construction crews sprayed the road surfaces with water, I presume to keep the dust down.  So far - so good.

The sun is shining, the weather is hot, the reconstruction work is moving along in an orderly manner and the businesses of Dawson Road are open; so come on down!

Have a great day!

Saturday, May 22, 2010 Victoria Day Long Weekend

As you might expect, the construction has stopped for the long weekend. I expect it to resume early Tuesday morning. This break in the action gives us an opportunity to overview what has gone on.
The crews are working at a steady pace, making good progress installing new concrete drain pipes about 5 m into the ground below one lane. The southbound lane is closed to traffic in order to do this work. So, come onto Dawson Road from Willow Road and travel North. Follow that golden rule and you will have no problem getting to where you want to go. Each business has good and open access. A couple of tips -

1. Drive slowly on Dawson so you'll have lots of time to see the access turn you want.
2. The work crews are generally winding up for the day at about 4pm, so traffic will be lighter then.
3. If it is raining, the crews may not be working anyway, so come on down.