A Vancouver business on Broadway will be shutting its doors for good at the end of the month due to impacts felt by the construction of the new subway line.
Surinder Sangha, owner of a Subway restaurant, says she’ll be closing down because business has been down by more than 75 per cent since the project’s construction began.
She has run her business for more than 13 years.
“During the pandemic, the government gave me some grants but now nothing for more than one and a half years,” she said.
“City do nothing right now, I talked to my accountant to ask about provincial help but they said no help.”
Sangha said she believes the loss of parking and other businesses closing their doors has severely hampered how many customers come in.
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To make matters worse for Sangha, she said her landlord wants to increase the rent by more than 50 per cent in March, something she says is not feasible for her business.
Global News reached out to the City of Vancouver on their thoughts on the closing of the Subway restaurant.
“We know the last few years have been a real struggle for local businesses. COVID restrictions and changing work habits in the area definitely have had an impact on the number of people frequenting the busy construction area where the Subway outlet is located,” said Steve Brown, City of Vancouver’s manager of the Transit Integration and Projects branch.
“That’s why we are doing what we can to provide support, such as our online Support Broadway Businesses campaign, and encouraging everyone to continue to visit the businesses along the Broadway corridor.”
He continued, “While the province is taking the lead on this project, we continue to work hard to mitigate construction impacts to Broadway businesses.”
The City of Vancouver has implemented a number of measures to help businesses in the area:
- Working with businesses to change parking regulations – providing more short-term parking for customers
- Installed Room to Load zones on side streets such as Yukon St, Granville St, and Cypress St to facilitate quick pick up/drop offs and deliveries
- Advocating to improve signage for businesses made less visible by construction
- Connecting with technical staff at Province on a regular basis to inspect the Broadway corridor and ensure safe and accessible pedestrian access to businesses
- Co-ordinating enforcement by parking management in loading zones to assist with business deliveries and short-term parking
The scheduled completion date for Vancouver’s Broadway subway has been pushed back to early 2026.