Toronto Leslie Barns | ?m | ?s | TTC | SAI

Tuscani01 said:
Newspapers need to stop publishing this bs. Sorry, but the businesses that closed were already doing poorly before construction, and one closing had nothing to do with construction (Burger King), but hey... lets publish this anyway and try to connect it to the construction!
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I don't think it's BS.

It's no secret that construction impacts neighbouring businesses. This is quite evident if you visit businesses when construction is going on.

Particularly those which are easily findable elsewhere. Do you doubt the claim that the gas station on Eastern in the middle of construction had a lot less business?

I see no reason why the media shouldn't be reporting this. The general tone of the article seems well balanced and neutral. The attitude of some of the impacted businesses is surprisingly pragmatic and reasonable.
 
nfitz said:
I don't think it's BS.

It's no secret that construction impacts neighbouring businesses. This is quite evident if you visit businesses when construction is going on.

Particularly those which are easily findable elsewhere. Do you doubt the claim that the gas station on Eastern in the middle of construction had a lot less business?

I see no reason why the media shouldn't be reporting this, in fact they ought to The general tone of the article seems well balanced and neutral. The attitude of some of the impacted businesses is surprisingly pragmatic and reasonable.
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Yes, no reason why the media should not report (in fact they ought to) but this was a poorly written article that mentions the Burger King closure - with photo - but then says that BK say it was unconnected to the work on Leslie and the reporter also seems to think that the TTC were responsible for the need to (and time taken to) replace the 100 year old water pipes. The Hydro work also delayed things, as usual and he also fails to note that the (long-overdue) improvements to Leslie were made at the insistence of the neighbourhood.
 
I honestly couldn't care less if a couple of businesses close in exchange for long lasting investment in transit. That applies elsewhere too, including St Clair and Eglinton. Some business die, new businesses move in. Big whoop.
 
salsa said:
I honestly couldn't care less if a couple of businesses close in exchange for long lasting investment in transit. That applies elsewhere too, including St Clair and Eglinton. Some business die, new businesses move in. Big whoop.
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God forbid that someone who built up a small business over a lot of years ends up losing it.
 
GenerationW said:
God forbid that someone who built up a small business over a lot of years ends up losing it.
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What's the rush? It's not like the TTC has anything to store in their billion dollar facility. Although in their defence, even though some corporate chain store franchises are technically small businesses, it's not like there's a shortage of them in Toronto.
 
nfitz said:
I don't think it's BS.

It's no secret that construction impacts neighbouring businesses. This is quite evident if you visit businesses when construction is going on.

Particularly those which are easily findable elsewhere. Do you doubt the claim that the gas station on Eastern in the middle of construction had a lot less business?

I see no reason why the media shouldn't be reporting this. The general tone of the article seems well balanced and neutral. The attitude of some of the impacted businesses is surprisingly pragmatic and reasonable.
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I never said it doesn't make it difficult for businesses, and know firsthand how it has affected businesses in the area, as I work for one of the companies. Sales are drastically down, however most of the businesses in the area have taken advantage of the situation by using this time to renovate. Marks is moving out soon due to the conditions, yet finding a tenant to take over the space wasn't difficult, even with the construction. A new retailer has already been selected. Marks was under-performing before construction even started, so to blame the closure on construction is unfair. It would have happened eventually. If anything, construction has allowed the space to be turned over to a retailer which can do much better in the location and will likely be more convenient for the neighbourhood.

Loblaws has undergone a complete transformation also, and now resembles the Maple Leaf Gardens store.

It's survival of the fittest. The businesses that weren't doing well to begin with are the ones that are being hit hardest now. The article happened to focus on the one business that was forced to close and barely touched on the businesses that have used the opportunity to renovate, or be a little more creative to attract business. There is a group of business owners in the area that have been pooling resources to get themselves through this, yet the article doesn't mention any of that.

The BK part of the story is also annoying. The photo caption specifically links BK's closure to the construction, yet BK has said it had nothing to do with construction. That's sloppy.

While construction on the barns will not wrap up for a while longer, at least the roadway has opened up again. Leslie is now open in both directions north/south, so accessing this area isn't as difficult as it was last summer.
 
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GenerationW said:
God forbid that someone who built up a small business over a lot of years ends up losing it.
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That is a risk the business owner takes and why they reap the rewards while they are successful. If they've run profitably for years they should have a buffer for a bad season. Most that go out of business are either already running the knifes edge during good times or find their model no longer works when rent rates go up as landlords capitalize on the benefits of the project. St. Clair has very few dollar stores and cheque cashing stores; it was littered with them in 2003.

All businesses die, some survive only weeks and others survive centuries, but they all fail to adapt eventually. I've dismantled a few of my own; sad days. Provided their owners treated it like a business rather than a hobby, they would have money to move on to the next thing whatever that is.

Common infrastructure needs to be renewed and updated, or nobody will have a business of any kind in the future.
 
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An incredibly short sighted view being expressed above, since all it creates is a ready made set of NIMBYs for any future project, as those business people will know (and be able to so demonstrate) that they will be hung out to dry and no sympathy or help for them. As a non-revenue track it's not even like there's an upside for them post-construction.
 
dowlingm said:
An incredibly short sighted view being expressed above, since all it creates is a ready made set of NIMBYs for any future project, as those business people will know (and be able to so demonstrate) that they will be hung out to dry and no sympathy or help for them. As a non-revenue track it's not even like there's an upside for them post-construction.
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I would say that having the streetscape of the (very dreary) Leslie Street area greatly improved would be a big positive for local residents and businesses and having the 100+ year old watermain replaced will avoid them being flooded. I do sympathise with them but this is really not too bad!
 
dowlingm said:
As a non-revenue track it's not even like there's an upside for them post-construction.
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That's not how most of the businesses are feeling about it. The yards will bring hundreds of new workers into the neighbourhood. It will be a boon for them, and most are looking forward to it opening. Considering that the majority of businesses in the area are in the food and service industry, most businesses are expected to benefit from this project.
 
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Tuscani01 said:
That's not how most of the businesses are feeling about it. The yards will bring hundreds of new workers into the neighbourhood. It will be a boon for businesses in the area, and most are looking forward to it opening. Considering that the majority of businesses in the area are in the food and service industry, most businesses are expected to benefit from this project.
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I would agree with that. With the streetcar operators either going off-shift or split-shift, they'll end up patronizing the businesses in the area.
 
This might be a dumb question.
If there is only one line on Leslie from Queen to Lakeshore, how will streetcars travelling south to the new Barns not cause a huge jam up? We're talking hundreds of streetcars every night here.
 
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pstogios said:
This might be a dumb question.
If there is only one line on Leslie from Queen to Lakeshore, how will streetcars travelling south to the new Barns not cause a huge jam up? We're talking hundreds of streetcars every night here.
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That would assume that every single streetcar is arriving there at the exact same time, which isn't the case.
 
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