A NUMBER of businesses in the Woodbrook and St James areas are complaining of losses since the new traffic plan was implemented on Monday.

A salesperson at a vegetable market on the Western Main Road, St James said the new plan was bad for business and sales have been down, especially due to no parking on mornings and evenings.

"I'm sure all the business people feeling it," she added.

She suggested that the authorities could allow people to park on one side of the road on one day and the other side the following day.

At the Smokey and Bunty Bar on the Western Main Road the Express found just two patrons.

When questioned about how the plan was affecting business the manager responded: "As you can see the bar empty."

He said before the plan customers going from West to East would stop and take a drink but they could no longer do that; traffic was now one way heading west. He said other customers were unsure about the parking arrangements with the new plan.

"People not too particular to take a lime," he said.

He pointed out that while traffic moved freely on the Western Main Road there was a now a lot of traffic on Bournes Road and George Cabral Street.

"Is like they move the traffic from the front to the back. That not making sense at all," he added.

At Dopson's Roti Shop on Maraval Road one attendant told the Express that business has been "horrible" since the plan was implemented. She noted that the shop is usually "pretty busy" in the early afternoon but because of the plan "(drivers) not bothering to stop".

The attendant at the Emoticons bar, also on Maraval Road, said that business has "slowed down tremendously".

He noted that before people would park at the side of the road to get a beer but now they cannot afford to do that. He explained that their patrons were complaining that they cannot get parking and they were wary of getting wrecked.

"(They saying) I come to get a beer for $10, I get wreck for $500, that is $510 I pay for a beer," he recalled.

He said that if they were making $500 in the morning he was not making as much as $90. Yesterday afternoon he said he had not made $100 for the day.