The next major road closure related to LRT construction gets underway next week.
On either Monday or Tuesday – the date seems to vary depending who you ask – King Street will close in the heart of uptown Waterloo, between William and Erb streets.
Although sidewalks are supposed to remain accessible, that stretch of King isn’t expect to reopen to vehicles for nine months.
“There’s a little bit of fear and frustration going on,” Patti Brooks, executive director of the Uptown Waterloo BIA, said in an interview.
Businesses located along the road have raised some concerns about the closure, including what it means for deliveries and garbage pickup.
In response, city officials have designated delivery zones in spots on Regina Street – displacing a few parking spots – and Willis Way.
Laurel O’Gorman is the owner of The Cobblestone Gallery. She says she’d like to see uptown landlords given a tax break during the construction season, which they could then pass along to their tenants as a rent decrease.
“It would be nice if (business owners) weren’t the only ones taking the hit,” she said in an interview.
Some business owners aren’t as concerned.
Michael Copland, who manages a Home Hardware store in the area, says there remains a lot of uncertainty over the effects of the prolonged road closure.
Still, he says he doesn’t expect to see anything like what happened in the King and Wellington area of Kitchener, where several businesses closed up shop as an even longer construction project unfolded.
“There’s always a few businesses that are marginal, and it doesn’t take much to put them under,” he said.
“Uptown Waterloo’s pretty healthy.”
Mary Rager of Alexandria’s Shoes is even more optimistic, saying the impending arrival of the Ion light rail transit system was the main reason she moved her business uptown.
“I took a leap of faith,” she said.
“I truly believe that what the city is doing here is going to be spectacular when it’s all finished.”
Brooks agrees, saying that whatever issues crop up during construction won’t be enough to keep customers away.
“So many of our stores are local, independent businesses – and they have a very loyal clientele,” she said.
According to Brooks, at least 25 new businesses have set up shop uptown in the past eight months.
