Latest news with #MountPleasantBusinessImprovementAssociation
Global News
5 days ago
- Business
- Global News
With Broadway subway still 2 years away, businesses say they're getting ‘zero' support
As the British Columbia government touts progress on the Broadway subway extension, some Vancouver businesses in the construction zone question if they can hang on for two more years. The $2.95 billion subway line was originally supposed to be finished in 2025, but is now aiming for a fall 2027 launch. During a tour on Monday, Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth downplayed concerns from businesses on Broadway who say fencing, no-stopping zones and the removal of parking in the area have driven away customers. 2:57 Sneak peak into massive Broadway SkyTrain project 'There has been a very good relationship between the project and businesses along the line, and we're in contact with them literally on a daily basis,' Farnworth said. Story continues below advertisement 'There has been a lot of liaising between the project team and the local businesses to ensure the impact is as minimal as possible.' Not everyone operating businesses on Broadway agrees. Matthew Greenwood, who owns the Up in Smoke cannabis store at Broadway and Alberta Street, says sales have fallen 40 per cent and he's had to slash his staff from 12 to three people since construction work started. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy He said the loss of parking and the installation of large fences on the street in 2021 and 2022 were to blame. 'That's when people decided it was too difficult to find parking in this neighbourhood and so they decided to go elsewhere. And also foot traffic is down hugely,' he said. 3:13 Broadway subway project parking questions Greenwood said he's had to shift his business model — sourcing unique and specialized products and moving to a mail-order business model to keep the doors open. Story continues below advertisement Support from the city and the province has been minimal, he added. 'They could have said you don't have to pay property taxes because it's a special construction zone and we don't have jurisdiction. They could have waived my business licence fee and that of other merchants. They could have given us a grant to launch our e-commerce service because we lost foot traffic. There are so many things they could have done. 'At this point, any effort would have been welcome, but at this time right now there has been zero effort on the hands of the provincial and municipal government other than prayers and thoughts.' Ned Wyles, executive director of the Mount Pleasant Business Improvement Association, said Greenwood is not alone. 'There's 100s of businesses along this line, everyone is different. They've all pivoted, done something different — opened an online store — but at the end of the day, they are all struggling, they are having to pull every trick out of their bag of tricks just to keep the doors open, through no fault of their own,' he said. 4:12 Impact on businesses as Broadway subway extension faces delays Wyles said the only kind of support businesses have been offered has been small things like free window cleaning. But he said the Ministry of Transportation won't budge on a policy of not offering financial compensation for the effects of construction. Story continues below advertisement He said it's particularly frustrating given that Finance Minister Brenda Bailey is the MLA for a portion of the transit line. 'Brenda Bailey, we need some help here,' he said. 'How about giving these guys a tax break? We did it during COVID, the government knows how to do it, I'm not asking you to give them money, I am asking you not to take it away from them.' The province has blamed project delays on a variety of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, a five-week concrete strike and unexpected challenges with tunnel boring, but maintains it will hit the current 2027 launch target.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
B.C. minister touts benefits of 3B Broadway Subway Project as businesses ask for support
B.C.'s transport minister talked up the benefits of the $2.95 billion Broadway Subway SkyTrain extension at a Monday photo op — but businesses say there's been little support for them as the delayed project looks to hit its 2027 completion date. The Broadway Subway Project aims to extend the Millennium Line by 5.7 kilometres, bringing the SkyTrain west from VCC-Clark station to Arbutus. And while it was initially supposed to cost $2.83 billion and come online this year, two delays have pushed the project to 2027, and the price has shot up to $2.95 billion. Businesses along Broadway who have had to deal with construction for five years say they're hanging by a thread, even as the province continues to say it will help alleviate pressure on Metro Vancouver's transit system. "As with all projects, there's always challenges," Transport Minister Mike Farnworth said. "There's issues that will come up, just because of the nature of the location, and events that do happen." Farnworth says the extension will increase the capacity of the SkyTrain system by 27 per cent, and would carry three times the capacity of the 99 bus line, which has long been the region's busiest route. "The time to get from VCC-Clark down to Arbutus will only be 11 minutes," he said. "So that is going to be a significant improvement, in terms of people's commuting experience, on the transit system." Farnworth acknowledged the problems the project has faced that has led to a two-year delay. The challenges included labour disputes and problems faced by tunnel boring machines along the Broadway corridor. "We're on time to have it open in 2027," he insisted. Businesses ask for support Farnworth said the Broadway Subway Project, which is funded by the province, has been in touch with local businesses on a daily basis over their concerns. But some of them say they've had to close up shop due to ongoing street construction. "I was forced to remortgage my home on two occasions and eventually was forced to sell my condo because of the drop in sales," said Allen Ingram, the owner of Home on the Range Organics. Ingram ended up having to close his Broadway location a month and a half ago and has shifted to primarily selling his products online, in addition to a new production kitchen on the Sunshine Coast. "It's without the woes of any construction, and it's a lovely place to be," he said. "So on a personal level, it feels a lot better to be removed from what we were going through in Vancouver." Neil Wyles, the executive director of the Mount Pleasant Business Improvement Association, says that he was seeing 50 per cent business vacancies along Broadway from Alberta Street to Kingsway — which he largely attributed to the reduction in foot traffic from subway construction. "We've talked to all of the politicians and everyone seems to be very, very, very sympathetic," he said. "But at the end of the day, there's been zero support for these businesses." Wyles said that businesses had been "hanging on by their fingernails" since subway construction started in 2020, and he is pushing for a tax break for stores affected by construction. "There's no guarantee that your store is going to just be flooded with people because of the Broadway line," Wyles said, when asked whether businesses can expect an uptick in foot traffic when the project is online. "I could not, in good conscience, go into one of my businesses and say, 'But it'll be worth it. It'll be totally worth it, man... I don't think that's true."
