Latest news with #ChurchStreet
CBC
10 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
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.
CBC
13 hours ago
- Politics
- CBC
Toronto is congested. Does King Street hold the solution?
A Toronto city councillor is calling for construction at the intersection of King Street E. and Church Street to be halted and reopened for cars. CBC's Dale Manucdoc explains why.
National Post
15 hours ago
- Politics
- National Post
Burlington Vermont is renaming a street in Canada's honour (for a while)
Article content The City of Burlington, Vt., has announced it will rename one of its central avenues from Church Street to Canada Street, from now until Labour Day (or Labor Day as it's known there). Article content The name change was presented by a group of city councillors at their June 16 meeting, led by Councillor Becca Brown McKnight, who wore a maple leaf shirt and handed out Canadian flags to the other councillors. Article content Article content Article content 'We have been fed up with Donald Trump's damaging and insulting rhetoric towards Canada,' Brown McKnight told CTV News this week. 'Renaming a street is something quick and easy for us to do, but also sends a message that we are in this fight with you.' Article content Article content Church Street, named after the First Unitarian Universalist Church that sits at its north end, is a pedestrian-only retail hub of downtown Burlington and home to its popular Church Street Marketplace. Article content Vermont's most populous city at 45,000, Burlington is less than 100 kms from the Quebec border by car, and is in one of two states where French is the second most common language spoken after English, the other being Louisiana. So it has also offered Rue de Canada as the French-language name for the street. Back in 2011, Burlington's city council also voted to add French to its local signage, though the move was a recommendation rather than a law. Article content The new resolution passed unanimously, although one councillor expressed frustration with 'performative' actions and said she hopes there will be further actions taken to support tourism and local businesses. Burlington city council says that more than 15 per cent of its summer tourism dollars typically come from Canadian visitors. However, visits by Canadians to the U.S. have fallen off since Donald Trump's tariff threats and talk of annexation. Article content Article content In the 1960s, the city joined with Burlington, Ont., to found the Burlington International Games, which eventually expanded to include Burlington, Iowa, and some non-Burlington cities, before ceasing in 2010 due to limited participation.
CTV News
3 days ago
- CTV News
SIU investigating death of person who fell from balcony in Toronto's St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood
One person has died after a fall from a balcony near Church Street and The Esplanade. (Mike Nguyen/ CP24) The Special Investigations Unit has invoked its mandate after a person fell to their death from a balcony in Toronto's St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood, Toronto police say. According to police, officers were called to the area of Church Street and The Esplanade at around 1:56 a.m. for a call about a person in crisis. At some point after the arrival of officers, the person fell from a balcony and died from their injuries, police said. Three officers sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the interaction, police said. The SIU will be investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident. The SIU is called in to investigate any time police are involved in an incident that results in death, serious injuries, allegations of sexual assault, and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person. Church Street is closed from Front Street to The Esplanade and it is unclear when the area will reopen.
CBC
3 days ago
- CBC
Ontario's police watchdog investigating after person falls to death from Toronto balcony
Ontario's police watchdog is investigating after a person fell to their death from a Toronto balcony early Tuesday morning, police say. The incident happened around 2 a.m., Toronto police spokesperson Laura Brabant said in an email. Officers responded to a call for a person in crisis near Church Street and The Esplanade. The person in crisis fell from a balcony and "succumbed to their injuries," Brabant said. Three officers suffered non-life threatening injuries during the incident, she said. Paramedics said they were called to 1 Church Street around 2:20 a.m. after reports of a fall. An adult man was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries, they said. Church Street is currently closed from Front Street to The Esplanade.
