Reid Street stinks, and at least one local businessman has had enough.Robin Gilbert, who owns a store in Washington Mall, raised the issue during a public meeting with the Corporation of Hamilton, yesterday.Mr Gilbert urged the city to make tackling the odour issue a priority, as he claims it is hurting retailers in the area. He also criticised some of the restaurant owners in the area, who he alleged were dumping used cooking grease in the streets.“Like all retailers, we are not having an easy time as of now. We struggle enough with our own issues,” Mr Gilbert said. “When something happens to us that is out of our area of responsibility, it’s a bit upsetting. It’s upsetting to myself, to my wife, to my children and my staff.“When you have got people coming into the store, commenting about the smell and walking out, that hurts us.”Mr Gilbert said he understands that the City is looking into how the city’s sewage system is handling the increased load from the new buildings erected in the last decade, but said that many buildings in Hamilton are vacant and shouldn’t be contributing to the issue.He also noted that the improper dumping of grease by a few of the town’s restaurants could be a factor, saying that grease stains are visible on some of the city’s sidewalks.“It shouldn’t be for you to clean,” Mr Gilbert said. “You should clean it up and send them the bill.”City engineer Patrick Cooper said that the corporation is well aware of the odour issues and have recently initiated two studies — one specifically into the odour and a hydraulic assessment of the Pitts Bay sewer line.However he noted that the corporation had not had reports of sewage smells on Reid Street, saying that the majority of complaints were from Pitt’s Bay Road/Front Street, particularly near the Ferry Terminal.He urged Mr Gilbert to contact him when issues like this arise so that the city will be better able to pinpoint the cause of the problem.Mayor Graeme Outerbridge also said the corporation has spoken with the restaurateurs in the city regarding the proper disposal of grease, and pledged that the city will continue to tackle the problem.