P.E.I.'s Gateway Village 'dark, dreary' and neglected, business owners say
CBC
Business owners in P.E.I.'s Gateway Village are growing increasingly frustrated with what they say is the property's state of disrepair.
Gateway Village is home to a series of colourful shops at the foot of the Confederation Bridge in Borden-Carleton.
Barbarann Fall, owner of Shop and Play in the village, said the state of the attraction has become so bad that it's now a safety risk. She's also worried people will steer clear of the village, adding tour bus operators have already raised a concern.
"We've talked to the province of Prince Edward Island, we've talked to the Town of Borden-Carleton and nobody seems to want to help us out right now," said Fall, who also lives in the community.
"This is your number one entryway ... year-round to Prince Edward Island, and at nighttime it's dark, it's dreary, there's nothing."
During a tour with CBC News, Fall pointed to light fixtures snapped in two, broken windows on buildings, signs that have fallen down, and piles of debris left sitting in parking lots for months.
Fall said not one of the street lights work, the grass is not being cut, garbage is not being picked up and some of the buildings are in disrepair.
Bailey Dawson, general manager of Lone Oak Brewing Company in Borden-Carleton, said the village has been forgotten.
Dawson, who also lives in Borden-Carleton, said not having the dozens of street lights working is a big issue for the brewing company, which stays open well into the evening.
"The state that it's become over the last five years is a little disheartening," Dawson said.
"Tourists are here now. We have to be prepared for them to come. We're the first thing they see, and if they don't like what they see, they're going to keep driving by."
Dawson has written letters of concern to the town and the local MLA.
Borden-Carleton officials told CBC News the town is not responsible for any services to Gateway Village other than water and sewer.
P.E.I.'s Department of Economic Development oversees Gateway Village. No one from the department responded to a request for an interview.
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