For business owners along Edmonton’s Stony Plain Road, the last several years have not been smooth sailing.
“There’s been a lot of trials and transitions,” said Justin Keats with the Stony Plain Road Businesses Association.
First, the pandemic forced an unexpected and prolonged period of uncertainty, he said.
“Then you had the LRT project beginning and it was impacted by supply management issues through COVID, workforce issues… just delayed that entire project,” Keats said. He said the increased cost of living and doing businesses have made things even harder and more expensive.
A combination of factors has led to dozens of Stony Plain Road businesses closing their doors, including flooding and construction.
“I would say probably somewhere along the lines of 25 or so,” Keats said. “A lot of those are variant, depending on unique situations to that business.”
LRT construction restricting access to storefronts certainly isn’t making things easier.
“It has definitely directly impacted our sales here,” said Marian Switzer, owner of Gilded Rabbit art store. “People just have a hard time getting in. I get it.”
She said the new intersection, closures and extensive signage can be overwhelming.
“Any of the businesses on the other side of the road — because their side has been blocked off for the last two years — they’re more directly impacted, which is why I’m concerned for when that construction flips over to our side and it becomes even more difficult to get into our parking lot.”
Switzer says she supports the expansion of public transit but the impacts of such a lengthy construction project have been difficult.
“Just before 2017-2018, we started to have a lot of cool, funky businesses moving into the neighbourhood. We were starting to go in an upward projection. We were having more people move here. And then with COVID and then construction, a lot of people haven’t been able to recover. It does feel a little bit sad… It would be nice to see this area become more revitalized again.”
She says she’s not sure if there’s anything can really be done to help businesses other than the obvious.
“The construction just needs to be done.”
Theo Psalios, owner of restaurant Little Village, said the road closures and construction have forced businesses to pivot.
“Since they started the construction, we’ve definitely seen a decrease in walk-in traffic,” he said. The restaurant focused on its delivery and catering services to fill the gap.
“It’s another obstacle you have to adapt to,” Psalios said. “You either sit around, complain about it and do nothing, or adapt. So: adapt or die.
“It’s a bit of a litmus test to see who’s … robust enough to get through this construction.”
The severity of the construction impacts has ebbed and flowed, Psalios said.
“There’s certainly some times… when the construction is really bad in front of us (and) it’s created really slow weeks,” he said. “We’ve experienced stress, no question.
“There’s been a lot of complaints from our customers and observations about how hard and messy it is to get in here. It’s a bit of a rat’s nest out there with construction.”
He’s hopeful that once the construction is done and the LRT complete, it will herald a rebirth of new businesses and customers.
“I hope people are using it if we’re going through all this,” Psalios said. “It would be really sad to see trains going by that are empty.”
The business association is optimistic that the LRT will benefit the area.
“From what the city has kind of outlined from its work and planning and just from other jurisdictions, there’s a lot of positivity once this LRT is built,” Keats said.
He believes there will be increased density along transportation pathways, which will mean more neighbours. But that is still way down the road.
“The crux of the issue right now is businesses being able to wait that long,” Keats said.
“I think they all understand the various issues at play, but then there’s just the length of time, and that’s just really grating on them, because every month, every three months, every year that goes by, they’re looking at their leger and they’re looking at a lack of people walking down the street and walking into their businesses.”
Keats said a conversation could be had at council about business support during extended construction — whether they should have to pay full taxes, for example.
“They’re contributing towards this project… they should be considered, perhaps even a little more so given that they’re in the direct path of it.”
In a statement to Global News, city spokesperson Tania Gonzalez said the challenges for businesses along Stony Plain Road are complex.
She said the city could not confirm any of the business closures are specifically linked to Valley Line West construction.
She added that the city and Marigold, the contractor, are “committed to maintaining open communication with residents and businesses impacted by Valley Line West construction.”
Those efforts include regular meetings with business improvement areas, door-to-door outreach with business owners along the 14 kilometres of construction, a construction toolkit and supplied signage.
The city has made efforts to maintain pedestrian access wherever possible, Gonzalez said, also mentioning the “Rally for the Road” promotional website.
Business owners who would like additional Business-Friendly Support can reach out for one-on-one help.
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