There’s already been a delay in the construction of Waterloo Region’s light rail transit system – but it’s the sort of delay that has people in the area happy.
King Street in uptown Waterloo was expected to close to traffic this summer for about five months of construction work.
Part of that closure will still happen – but only between Union and William streets.
The remainder of King – between William and Erb streets – won’t close until early 2016.
Representatives of construction consortium GrandLinq say the decision was made due to the concerns of businesses in the area, which didn’t want to be in the midst of construction during the Christmas shopping season.
Business owners said they were surprised to see GrandLinq agree to move the construction – and relieved, too.
“If you take Christmas away, it makes it hard to be around in January,” said David Worsley of Words Worth Books.
OW Sports owner Kris Deyarmond had a similar opinion, saying winter is traditionally the busiest time of year for his business.
“It was great to hear that they listened,” he said.
Events that had already planned to move off of King due to construction, including the Waterloo Busker Carnival, Uptown Waterloo Jazz Festival and Oktoberfest Thanksgiving Day Parade, will remain in their off-King spots this year.
A spokesperson for GrandLinq said that crews previously expected to work on King would be moved elsewhere.
“Our expectation is not that they will delay the schedule overall,” Avril Fisken said.
Caroline Street, which has been closed for construction for some time, is expected to reopen by the end of the summer.
In Kitchener, King is already closed to some traffic between Union and Victoria for Ion-related construction.
