Lockdown 2.0? Cabbagetown construction feels like height of pandemic, shop owners say
CBC
Regina Sheung's carefully curated gift boutique, Labour of Love, was always meant to be an in-person shopping experience.
The business owner geared up for customers to make a comeback after the pandemic, but instead, it's felt like lockdown all over again.
"But it's a completely different lockdown, it's construction lockdown," she said.
Sheung recently started a petition highlighting the challenges businesses in Cabbagetown are facing due to the construction projects, and also calling on the city to take action to alleviate some of the impact it's having on people like her.
"We have been seeing foot traffic drop to up to 70 per cent over the last couple months," she said.
"We want to recuperate from what we have lost and pay our bills moving forward, but the holidays are coming up and it's been deserted."
Businesses in Cabbagetown say transit-related construction happening on College Street is diverting would-be customers from the area completely. Meanwhile, a water main replacement project on Parliament Street has made it difficult for both pedestrians and customers with cars to get to certain shops.
After barely making it through the lockdowns during the pandemic, these business owners say the city should work to complete this construction faster. The city says these projects are necessary infrastructure projects. It says construction on College is expected to be completed by the end of December 2022 and the water main replacement on Parliament will be wrapping up in the spring. But businesses worry they won't survive until then.
Kaelo Gallagher, owner of Menagerie Pet Shop on Parliament, says over the last few weeks, trucks haven't been able to get in with supplies due to the road being torn up right in front of his business.
"We've been starved of our inventory," he said.
"We've been losing $1,000 to $1,500 a day in sales just because of this construction."
The petition is calling on the city to reduce the timelines for completion by 50 per cent. It's also demanding support and better communication with local businesses.
Gallagher says he's even extended his store hours in an attempt to attract more customers and says he would have appreciated more details on timelines.
"The city didn't really explain how impactful it was going to be," he said.
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