The Tribune

By Earyel Bowleg

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

ATLANTIS’ president and managing director Audrey Oswell said the resort will see “how it plays out” after Wendy’s was granted approval for its Paradise Island restaurant.

She said their concern is about the traffic.

Psomi Holdings, an affiliate of Aetos Holdings, the Wendy’s and Marco’s Pizza franchisees, criticized Atlantis last week after approval was granted for the Paradise Island restaurant, saying the resort had masterminded a “meritless, aggressive and self-serving campaign” to block the move.

Pressed on Wendy’s being on Paradise Island as well, Ms Oswell replied: “We’ll see how it plays out. Our concern is traffic. We’re waiting for a traffic study to come back.”

She described the effect on other businesses and the hotel’s staff.

“Our biggest concern is the traffic,” Ms Oswell explained. “There’s already a lack of parking in that shopping centre for the existing businesses and our concern is especially for our team members when they’re coming to and from work that the outgoing roadways onto the bridge are not held up and they’re not backed up due to the lack of parking.”

She further added: “If anybody is familiar with PI and you come out there during shift changes now, you’ll see that there’s a lot of traffic and sometimes it’s backed up for quite some time and we’re just concerned because of the lack of parking that shopping centre already has and the lack of parking at the old Scotia Bank site that it will just back up even more, which is why we, through PIDA, the Paradise Island Tourism Development Association, have engaged a traffic study and we hope to have the results back quickly.”