Businesses along Broadway in Vancouver are pleading for help from the province in the wake of news subway construction has been extended for another year.
The Ministry of Transportation revealed Friday that the projected completion date for the Broadway subway has been pushed back to the fall of 2027.
“All you need to do is drive down the street and see all the for lease signs,” said Catherine Ellsmere, who owns Odin Books at Broadway and Quebec streets.
Parking within a block of Odin has been essentially eliminated, and the Broadway storefront sits behind a “maze” of metal fencing, Ellsmere explained.
Ellsmere estimated business is down by about 50 per cent, with almost no walk-in traffic. She said signage on the street indicating businesses are still open was having little, if any, impact.
She said the company is surviving largely off online sales and a few “die-hard” in-person customers.
“Initially it was supposed to be finished in the fall of 2025, and then they changed that to the spring of 2026, and now we are at the fall of 2027. That’s huge,” she said.
“And we have had no compensation at all for the impact of this project.”
Neil Wyles, executive director of the Mount Pleasant Business Improvement Association (BIA) said he’s heard similar stories from a number of his members.
“These blocks are wastelands. People are moving out, they are leaving and they aren’t coming back,” he said.
Wyles said he understands that delays can happen on large infrastructure projects, but said the province needs to step up to help those who are affected by them.
He claimed the province is using a policy against providing compensation due to short-term business interruptions as a “shield and an excuse.”
“Well, this will be seven years. What do we define as short-term?” he said.
“It’s your policy. You can change it and help these people if you want to.”
The province has cited the COVID-19 pandemic, labour shortages and a five-week concrete strike as reasons for the project’s delay. It has not provided an update on what the lengthened timeline could mean for the subway’s cost.
B.C. Premier David Eby, speaking at an unrelated event on Monday, splashed cold water on the idea of financial compensation.
“The project is progressing and progressing well,” Eby said.
“The major disruptive works to businesses will not be continuous. There is a bunch of work that needs to happen underground.”
In the meantime, Wyles said the BIA has been working with the project to help where it can, including opening a few parking spaces and loading areas.
Ellsmere said the province needs to revisit its policy, particularly for businesses located on the most disrupted blocks, such as those around station construction.
She believes seriously impacted businesses should be looked at on a case-by-case basis.
Without help, she said, Broadway is at risk of being hollowed out.
“Look at the impact,” she said.
“If this was your business what would you be doing? Probably considering not being here.”
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