Typically, road closures are not popular.
People who live along the affected road face sometimes lengthy detours, drivers may end up caught in gridlock, and businesses along the route can see decreases in business.
That’s certainly been the case for some along King Street north of Victoria this spring. The closure there intensified last week, when King closed fully between Victoria and Moore Avenue for 18 months.
But barely 100 metres away, an even-more-permanent road closure is being greeted with smiles – or, at worst, indifference.
“It’s … not that big (of a) deal,” Burihan Nizany said Monday.
He was referring to Waterloo Street, which will close later this month between Victoria and Breithaupt streets.
Unlike King, Waterloo’s isn’t expected to ever reopen to vehicles.
“Ultimately, GO trains will be crossing right across that road,” said John Hill, a planner with Waterloo Region.
“It will open again … for pedestrians and cyclists to get into the transit hub.”
Waterloo’s closure is tied to the King Street closure in some ways.
King will be lowered to allow traffic to pass under a new rail bridge, while the region’s new transit hub will be built between King and Waterloo, north of Victoria.
“There is a lot of construction that people are dealing with, but for us it’s that long-term vision,” Hill said.
People who live in the area say they’ll likely use Duke Street to get around the closure of Waterloo.
Anyone making a longer trip may end up on Weber Street, which was widened in the area in recent years to accommodate just such an influx.
The closure of Waterloo Street takes effect June 26.
