‘This is not good’: Leslieville businesses affected by Metrolinx construction

Business owners in Leslieville would like the province’s transit agency to better coordinate how it reduces traffic in the area, noting poor signage and congestion from infrastructure upgrades are scaring congestion-weary customers away.

Metrolinx has been making upgrades to several bridges over consecutive months to strengthen them from the incoming demands of Ontario Line and GO trains. The work is expected to continue over the next two months on a railway bridge spanning Queen St. East between Broadview and Carlaw avenues, and local business owners are calling on the transit agency to better coordinate how its done.

Pointing to the modest traffic, Christiane Tetreault said the usually vibrant area has seen a major drop in visitors since the bridge work began. She and other nearby businesses say it is even worse on weekends, with drivers skipping the area to avoid traffic tie-ups. “People come down once, they deal with the congestion and the traffic and then they stop coming through,” she said.

It’s alarming for Tetreault who runs ‘In the Pocket Leslieville,’ a pop-up container market located near the corner of Carlaw and Queen. The goal of the market is to not only make sales, but to introduce vendors who may be considering putting down long-term roots in the Leslieville to the area.

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Tetreault said after all the area has gone through from the pandemic, high inflation, and a shooting, the last thing local businesses need is a construction deterrent as well. “We need clear detour signs from all over, not just where the construction is, but all over,” said Tetreault, pointing out the lack of signage and sudden closures have made the area into a ghost town on weekends.

Aziz Alam owns Good Neighbour and said he’s noticed a 30 percent drop in business at his clothing store since the construction began. “We thought we’d seen it all, the worst parts of it back during the pandemic, but this is not good,” he said. The store he said relies on customers who travel from out of the region and the traffic isn’t going to cut it.

This isn’t the first transit expansion project that has drawn complaints from local businesses. The long-running Eglinton Crosstown LRT fiasco drove many businesses to bankruptcy after years of construction hoarding and traffic jams drove people away from the region.

In response to questions about the bridge construction, Metrolinx’s media department issued Global News with a written statement saying “we make sure store fronts are clear and easy to access, and we work together on promotions and shop local incentives during construction.”

Neither Alam, nor Tetreault, said they have seen any evidence of shop local initiatives on their stretch, despite Tetreault’s urges as chair of the local BIA.

The pop-up market will continue for the remainder of October weekends, before taking a brief November hiatus ahead of a return in time for December’s holiday shoppers. While hoping the public communication improves from Metrolinx, Tetreault wanted to assure customers the area is still easy to access. She just advises them to plan ahead.