LRT construction guts Richmond Road businesses

Article content

Not long after Alaa Kiki borrowed $150,000 to open a stylish new barber shop in Ottawa, LRT construction crews started chewing up the stretch of Richmond Road directly in front of his business. 

Article content

Article content

Suddenly customers stopped showing up, deterred by a tricky hairpin detour, a maze of traffic cones, confusing signage and fencing that blocks sightlines to the businesses. Even the sidewalk was chopped up. 

Article content

Now, just eight months after his grand opening, Kiki isn’t sure he’ll make it to the end of the year.

“If I can’t give the landlord the rent next month or pay the staff, I’m going to close,” said the 46-year-old father of four who brought his family from Syria via Jordan five years ago. 

“I came to Canada for a better life — to find a future for my kids. But there is no future. Only I work every day and at the end of the month I don’t have money.”

That’s not how it was in the beginning. Kiki’s Barber Shop opened last March in the strip mall at 911 Richmond Rd., and soon had a steady stream of clients. Kiki had four people working for him and they were busy all day long.

“Now we have zero new people,” he said. “A lot of our clients are seniors, and they say it’s difficult to get here and complicated to get out.”

Last month, he borrowed $17,000 to cover costs, but still has to pay that back and is running out of options. He wishes the municipal government would step up to help. 

“We need support as soon as possible,” Kiki said. “But the people who make decisions don’t care about small businesses.”

For their part, city staff say they’re doing what they can to help. In a written response, public-information officer Katrina Camposarcone-Stubbs noted that cities are not allowed to hand out money to “financially benefit private businesses,” under Section 106 of Ontario’s Municipal Act.

Article content

Article content

Instead, she listed the measures the city has taken to alleviate disruptions during the project, including the placement of detour signage, holding information sessions and conducting a door-knocking campaign to find out the concerns of people in the area.

Access to businesses and residences is being maintained, she emphasized, and “we are making every effort to address these concerns with stakeholders.

“The safety of all road users is a top priority and access throughout the site will be adjusted as construction progresses,” Camposarcone-Stubbs said.

She also pointed out the contractor, KEV, has offered advertising support to several directly affected businesses.

But the business owners say the amount offered, $3,000, is inadequate. “Three thousand dollars for advertising for three years?” said Kiki, who’s already dropped $35,000 on advertising this year. “That’s $2 a day. Big shame on them.”

What’s more, the barber isn’t the only business owner on this stretch of Richmond Road whose livelihood is crumbling because of the construction.

A few doors down, backgammon players filled several tables at the Lorenzo Bar and Grill, taking part in their monthly tournament. If not for them, the bar would have been deserted. 

Article content

Owner Gillian Danby said 2024 has been the worst year for business in the six years she’s been running the bar. Usually, she’d book a dozen private parties leading up to Christmas; this year there are just three. 

“It’s been really quiet and we lost some Christmas parties because it’s so difficult to get here,” she said, noting that Uber drivers often get lost and call for directions. 

“Even the regulars who come on foot say they’re having a hard time,” she added. “What will they do when winter comes? I don’t know if they’ll come or not, and I don’t blame them. It’s not safe or easy to access.”  

She said there have been multiple accidents in the area. In one recent case, she said a pedestrian was hit by a vehicle because the driver couldn’t see around the hairpin corner. Another time, a pedestrian fell on the uneven sidewalk, injuring himself badly enough that bar staff called an ambulance. 

Danby said she’s been pressuring the city to give the affected businesses a break on taxes, but was dismayed by the replies she got from Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and Bay Ward Coun. Theresa Kavanagh.

Article content

“They say they can’t help us,” she said. “If they really cared about our economy, strong businesses are what helps our city.”

Another stressed business owner is Mostofa Miah, owner of Mia’s Indian Cuisine at 917 Richmond Rd., who said his 13-year-old restaurant’s business is down by 60 per cent. Normally most of the tables on a Sunday afternoon would be full; on this day, just two couples were dining. 

“It’s a very bad situation,” said Miah, who’s 49. “Every month I have to borrow money from my brothers, my sister, my relatives. I don’t know how we are going to survive.” 

One significant concern for him is the food waste. He prides himself on serving fresh, tasty dishes, but because many of the ingredients are perishable, they’re thrown out if there aren’t enough customers. 

To add to the strife, the traffic at that corner of Richmond Road and Woodroffe Avenue is far worse, too, to the extent that he says it often takes him 20 or 30 minutes to make a left turn from the mall’s parking lot onto Woodroffe when he has to pick up his children from school. 

Miah doesn’t see it getting any better. With winter on the way, snow clearing and heat will suck more money out of the business. 

Article content

Fortunately, he still has loyal customers. Two of them, Bill and Joyce Smythe, drove from Bells Corners to enjoy a late lunch at their favourite Indian restaurant in Ottawa. They like to get there before dark because the lights at night make the detour even more confusing. 

In Bill’s opinion, the city should do more to help out the struggling businesses. 

“I think the city has a responsibility to do something, no question about it. Taxes could be one way,” he said. “Or maybe just tell people to come and visit. The curries are good. We don’t want this place to shut down.”

lsaxberg@postmedia.com

Article content