Toronto business owners say King Street construction, road closure costing them
Just over two weeks after a major Toronto intersection was closed for a construction project that's expected to take much of the summer, some King Street business owners say they're already losing business due to reduced traffic and noise.
The intersection of King Street E. and Church Street was closed to all traffic on June 2, and is scheduled to remain so until mid-August, according to the city.
The closure is part of a joint project by the city and the TTC to replace aging streetcar tracks, as well as a 142-year-old water main.
Spokespersons for the TTC and the city told CBC Toronto that work is currently on schedule. But in the meantime, transit has been rerouted off a portion of King Street, and some business owners say the construction is costing them.
WATCH | Toronto downtown intersection will be closed until mid-August:
King-Church intersection to be closed until mid-August
17 days ago
Duration 3:00
Graham Wong, founder and CEO of LAUFT, where professionals rent on-demand work spaces, says the noise and traffic diversions aren't convenient for clients.
"When they start to drill, it gets very loud. And so you can imagine that if someone has a video call, or they have a team meeting, they certainly want to have that ability to focus," he said, adding that the closure started earlier than expected.
"So there were some juggling things that we had to do for clients, and saying, possibly, maybe, you move your meeting to another location that we have."
He said the business is getting by, but if the project is delayed into September, it would start to conflict with the company's busy season as workers return from vacations.
Another business owner on the street, Arti Joshi, says her spa Atmana opened near King and Church in the winter, and had started to break even last month. But revenue has decreased 70 per cent in June compared to May, she says, and the construction is keeping people away.
"We're getting calls, but then when they see that this road is blocked, they don't want to come this way. So it's really hitting our business," she said.
And for those who do make it, Joshi says the spa experience hasn't been as relaxing as in previous months.
"Because I am in the lower level... I had to actually cancel my guests from coming in, because the entire place was vibrating and rattling," she said.
Joshi says the drilling has improved since construction started, but the project is still disrupting business.
"I just wish this gets over soon. We love this spot."
Councillor proposes removing transit priority
The road closure has also had a broader impact, forcing transit and vehicles to divert on side streets, adding to downtown congestion.
Coun. Brad Bradford said Thursday that he wants the city to increase traffic flow in the area by temporarily removing transit priority on King Street while streetcars and buses are diverted for construction. He says he'll bring a motion forward at next week's council meeting to that effect.
"There are no streetcars using this transit priority corridor right now. It is a transit priority corridor in name only," he told reporters at a news conference downtown Thursday. "This is a simple step that would immediately relieve the pressure on adjacent east-west routes and help ease some of the traffic congestion across the entire downtown core."
Bradford, who represents the Beaches-East York ward in the city's east end, said he's responding to what he's heard from constituents, as well as businesses and people from across the city, about "what a nightmare it is to get into downtown Toronto."
Bradford was also asked if he intended to run for mayor next year, but declined to confirm.
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