Some businesses hope for community revival after Eglinton Crosstown opening
CBC
With the Eglinton Crosstown LRT finally opening doors on Sunday, businesses along the new line say years of construction have drained the “vibrancy” out of nearby communities.
Grocery stores, doctors offices, banks and more have shuttered their doors after a drop in customers during construction for the LRT, said John Ferrari, owner of women’s clothing store Latina Dress.
“There’s been a collapse of the neighbourhood. A lot of businesses have exited,” he said, adding that he’s been lucky to stay open for 50 years along Eglinton Avenue.
It’s a frustration that Mayor Olivia Chow acknowledged and hopes will be addressed when Line 5 opens after “many years.”
“Finally. … It’s been so much needed by the community,” Chow told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning Wednesday.
“We need to help some of the small businesses along Eglinton to be as vibrant as they can be.”
While Chow wasn’t able to promise that the line’s phased rollout would run without any glitches, she said the city will keep Metrolinx and private maintainers “on speed dial” to address issues right away.
In spite of it all, she urged residents to ride the new transit line and give it a chance.
“There may be problems. We don’t know. But I think there aren’t now as many problems as before,” she said.
Over 300 hundred businesses closed in Little Jamaica along Eglinton Avenue during the years of construction, said Jason McDonald, chair of the Little Jamaica Business Improvement Area (BIA).
“This used to be a vibrant community,” he said. “We’ve lost our cultural identity due to the Metrolinx debacle.”
He said his beauty salon business, just doors away from the new Oakwood Station, was impacted by rat infestations, flooding and mold due to nearby construction.
“We were promised heaven, Little Jamaica was going to be heaven,” he said. “[Now] we don’t have any faith.”
Ferrari said the 15-year construction project’s scaffolding covered nearby businesses, street parking and made accessing the area difficult.
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