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Edmonton Journal
3 days ago
- Business
- Edmonton Journal
Opinion: Are bike lanes bad for business? Why Alberta's municipalities need construction mitigation
A cycle track is shown in front of businesses on 11th Street S.W. in Calgary. Brent Calver/Postmedia Picture this: you've owned a business in a major Alberta municipality for years. It's your livelihood, and your business makes just enough for you to get by despite a high business property tax burden, shortage of skilled labour and high insurance costs. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Then, the city decides to construct a bike lane on the street in front of your store. It starts with partial lane closures and cones blocking some of your customers' parking. You start to notice that sales are down. You think maybe it's just a symptom of the times — a lack of consumer demand — or maybe it's just the post-Stampede blues. The next week you come in, the pavement is torn up and all the parking in front of your store is gone, leaving customers and employees with no convenient way to access your business. Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again You notice a further decline in sales and customer traffic. Maybe this will only last a month or two. You think: my business has a contingency fund and can weather the storm until the city completes the project. Unfortunately, you didn't know that, on average, construction exceeds timelines and disrupts small businesses for 508 days. That's way more than you planned, and now you're forced to consider making tough decisions, such as laying off staff and reducing operating hours to cope. If you think this scenario is irregular, consider this: over the past five years, the average Canadian small business reported a 40 per cent decline in sales during construction projects. This is unsustainable for many. Business owners must still pay property taxes based on assessment values tied to the property's revenue-generating potential, an assumption that's no longer accurate when there's major construction disruption in the neighbourhood. Then, the kicker: this bike lane project will permanently remove the parking in front of your business because there's not enough room on the road for the protected lane and vehicle traffic. To add insult to injury, only 0.005 per cent of your neighbourhood's population use the bike lane infrastructure day to day. Now, your business is no longer viable in the long term, because the reduction in customer traffic is your new normal and you are forced to close. This is more than hypothetical; this is what the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has heard from members across the province. CFIB is calling on municipalities to pause disputed bike lane projects and undertake a review to mitigate the effect on small-business owners and ensure the needs of the whole community are considered. Part of this project review should consider introducing construction mitigation measures, including financial assistance for businesses that experience negative effects. Cities such as Montreal, Quebec City and Lévis already run construction mitigation programs that provide financial assistance. Montreal offers up to $40,000 per year to businesses experiencing a decrease of more than five per cent in gross profit due to construction projects. Alberta's municipalities could provide similar grants or property tax breaks.
Calgary Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Opinion: Are bike lanes bad for business? Why Alberta's municipalities need construction mitigation
Picture this: you've owned a business in a major Alberta municipality for years. It's your livelihood, and your business makes just enough for you to get by despite a high business property tax burden, shortage of skilled labour and high insurance costs. Article content Then, the city decides to construct a bike lane on the street in front of your store. It starts with partial lane closures and cones blocking some of your customers' parking. You start to notice that sales are down. You think maybe it's just a symptom of the times — a lack of consumer demand — or maybe it's just the post-Stampede blues. Article content Article content Article content The next week you come in, the pavement is torn up and all the parking in front of your store is gone, leaving customers and employees with no convenient way to access your business. Article content Article content You notice a further decline in sales and customer traffic. Maybe this will only last a month or two. You think: my business has a contingency fund and can weather the storm until the city completes the project. Article content Unfortunately, you didn't know that, on average, construction exceeds timelines and disrupts small businesses for 508 days. That's way more than you planned, and now you're forced to consider making tough decisions, such as laying off staff and reducing operating hours to cope. Article content If you think this scenario is irregular, consider this: over the past five years, the average Canadian small business reported a 40 per cent decline in sales during construction projects. This is unsustainable for many. Business owners must still pay property taxes based on assessment values tied to the property's revenue-generating potential, an assumption that's no longer accurate when there's major construction disruption in the neighbourhood. Article content Article content Then, the kicker: this bike lane project will permanently remove the parking in front of your business because there's not enough room on the road for the protected lane and vehicle traffic. To add insult to injury, only 0.005 per cent of your neighbourhood's population use the bike lane infrastructure day to day. Article content Now, your business is no longer viable in the long term, because the reduction in customer traffic is your new normal and you are forced to close. Article content This is more than hypothetical; this is what the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has heard from members across the province. CFIB is calling on municipalities to pause disputed bike lane projects and undertake a review to mitigate the effect on small-business owners and ensure the needs of the whole community are considered. Article content Part of this project review should consider introducing construction mitigation measures, including financial assistance for businesses that experience negative effects. Cities such as Montreal, Quebec City and Lévis already run construction mitigation programs that provide financial assistance. Montreal offers up to $40,000 per year to businesses experiencing a decrease of more than five per cent in gross profit due to construction projects. Alberta's municipalities could provide similar grants or property tax breaks.
