Ongoing traffic congestion on Highway 14 is pushing Sooke businesses to the brink of closure.

Sooke business owners have said that the daily congestion has caused a decline in customers and have warned that they face drastic cost-cutting measures, or in some cases closure, if a solution is not found 鈥渟ooner rather than later鈥�.

Smaller local shops, particularly impacted by local residents who work outside of Sooke choosing to shop in towns such as Langford before braving the traffic home, have urged the community to 鈥渟hop local", warning that it is a 鈥渦se it or lose it鈥� situation.

鈥淚've had my shop for 16 years now, and I've never seen it this quiet,鈥� said Karen Stones, owner of A Sea of Bloom, a floral and gift boutique shop on Otter Point Road, speaking to Sooke News Mirror. 鈥淥ne person has said to me that if this keeps going, they鈥檒l be done by the fall. I can tell people are scared like 鈥� it鈥檚 a worry.鈥�

For Stones, who recently had a knee operation forcing her to hire more employees and use reserves to cover costs, her fear is having to cut staff if the problem persists.

鈥淚f it gets to the point where I might have to close, I鈥檓 going to be laying everybody off,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd it would just be my husband and I running it. We would normally rely on regular sales, but they're not happening.鈥�

In a bid to encourage more business and find a quick short-term solution, Stones and neighbouring shop owners are teaming up to encourage Sooke residents to shop local and support them. Ideas include a parking-lot party, increased social media activity, new signage and late-night openings.

鈥淲e do have a good set of locals that support us, but everybody's busy and people are frustrated with the traffic so they're not coming into the core of Sooke,鈥� said Stones. 鈥淪o we鈥檙e just trying to remind people that we鈥檙e still here and to shop local.鈥�

It鈥檚 not just Stones and her neighbours that are speaking out about the problems facing local businesses. At a District of Sooke meeting on July 8, nearly 40 minutes was dedicated to a period of public participation, as business owners and residents lined up to have their say about the ongoing traffic woes.

Dentist Chris Bryant told councillors that missed appointments was costing his business in the region of 鈥渇our-figures every month鈥�, urging the council to 鈥渢ake off the gloves and get bloody鈥� to tackle the issue.

鈥淲e are losing businesses that just aren鈥檛 going to come back to Sooke,鈥� warned realtor Shayne Fedosenko, who gave one example of a group home that has closed down and is moving to Langford because of staffing issues caused by the traffic.

鈥淏usinesses are saying that it鈥檚 time to go, they can鈥檛 get people to come out here and work,鈥� added Fedosenko.

Other business owners cited concerns that tourists are being deterred by the traffic and that staff leaving work early or arriving late because of the delays is causing a rise in overtime payments.

Traffic delays on Highway 14 have been an ongoing issue for Sooke for many years, but the problem has been exacerbated in recent months by works to upgrade Charters Road, which 鈥渞emains on schedule鈥� to be completed by October.

A petition launched in June, which calls for the B.C. government鈥檚 immediate attention to address the traffic gridlock, now has close to 3,100 signatures as of Monday, July 22.

An online fundraiser has also been launched to raise $15,000, in addition to $10,000 already pledged by the Sooke Region Chamber of Commerce, to help fund the hiring of an 鈥渆xpert engineer鈥� to work with municipal staff to explore and implement critical traffic improvements.

鈥淲hen people are close to tears describing how this is hurting their business, I just want to jump in and help,鈥� said business owner Susan Jones, who launched the petition and fundraiser. 鈥淚 don't know if Home Hardware have enough shovels for us to go out there and dig up a road ourselves. But you know, it's to that extreme.鈥�

In a statement on July 17, the District of Sooke said that it was continuing to monitor traffic delays on Highway 14 as part of efforts to address ongoing congestion concerns. And in her July mayoral message, Maja Tait said the council鈥檚 resources are dedicated to addressing short, medium, and long-term solutions for Sooke鈥檚 transportation needs. 

But for Sooke business owners, time is running out.

鈥淥ne guy told me, 'It鈥檚 like, do we keep going? At what point do we pull the pin?'鈥� teacher Greg Jacobson told Sooke News Mirror about a conversation he had with a local business owner. 鈥淎nd this is a someone who's in their fifties considering another 10 years to dig themselves out of a hole or do they just pull the pin now?鈥�