Jay Aissa says he hasn’t thought about running in October’s municipal elections, but he hopes anyone who does run heeds his concerns about the Ion light rail transit system.
“I’m going to continue with this until election time. I’m not going to stop,” the owner of a Waterloo fencing store tells CTV News.
In December, Aissa started a petition against the project. It now sits at nearly 2,000 signatures.
Aissa says his concerns about the project are spurred by its $818-million price tag – which he’s sure will rise – and that an LRT-related median will block customers from making left turns into his business.
“Lots of businesses are going to be affected – not only by the construction side, but also by running the train every seven minutes,” he says.
“It’s going to create lots of headaches for lots of business owners.”
Aissa says he’s started to look for a new home for his business.
Tom Galloway, a regional councillor representing Kitchener, says he understands Aissa’s concerns but believes businesses along the route will ultimately find positives in having the system pass their businesses.
“We are working with businesses to help them market their businesses through the construction period,” he says.
“(In) every other jurisdiction that has built these, the commercial enterprises have benefitted tremendously.”
In December, the region held a sparsely attended workshop for business owners on the subject of planning to keep customers while impacted by Ion construction.
A second workshop was held Monday.
Aissa says he doesn’t think the region has done a good job communicating the workshops, or the project at large, with the business community.
“They keep saying that they’re trying to help the businesses (but) I’ve never seen a letter come in,” he says.
Regional councillors are set to vote on the largest piece of the project, the contract with the consortium that will design, build, operate, maintain and finance the project, next month.
