Sheppard LRT construction raises business fears.
The Brimell Group CEO Mark Bozian, outside his car dealership on Sheppard Avenue yesterday, is unhappy about the business prospects related to the construction of the proposed Sheppard LRT. Bozian is chair of the Sheppard East Village BIA, whose members are wary of the LRT.
Staff photo/IRVIN MINTZ
Spare a thought for Mattress 4U, a small Agincourt business whose managers hung its "Grand Opening" banner three weeks ago, knowing the store will close within months. In fact, the whole plaza at Sheppard Avenue and Agincourt Drive will be emptied - Chinese seafood restaurant, appliance store and massage parlour included - because the Sheppard East Light-Rail project is on its way."When I signed the lease, I already knew," Tony Fung said looking out the mattress shop window this week toward the nearby GO Train crossing."They spent a lot of money for this project, too much. And government don't have that much money."A grade separation putting Sheppard under the GO line means a temporary road, completed next month and in use by May, will block access to Fung's plaza and another just across the tracks. It has already closed Benjamin Automotive, on the spot for 24 years, and a used-car lot across the street.Businesses at the Sheppard-GO Plaza are already shut, except for Docs - Pharm, a clinic and pharmacy specializing in family and addiction medicine. "All this plaza will be gone," said Dr. Bijan Pardis. "Sheppard Avenue will go four metres down."Nearby, St. Timothy's Anglican Church has paid for a pre-condition survey, in case of vibration damage to the church. "I think we are in for several years of pain," said Rev. Dr. John Stevenson, adding many seem unaware the project, expected to take three years to connect Don Mills Station with Meadowvale Road, is coming."We've all just got to bear it together."The Sheppard East Village Business Improvement Area, speaking for 500 businesses from Midland to Markham Road, is stressing Sheppard East, being first in a city-wide LRT network, is one authorities must "get right."The group, "while not militant, will not be pushed around and will not be ignored," BIA chairperson Mark Bozian warned, arguing this week the price of better transit on Sheppard should not be jobs or businesses lost during construction.BIA members are meeting TTC officials to talk about construction staging and other issues. Though that's helped, Bozian said he wants a chance to present concerns to the transit commission itself. "We don't know if what we suggest in those rooms end up in these construction contracts."On Thursday, Nov. 5, TTC Chairperson Adam Giambrone said he hasn't received a letter from the BIA with that request. Ryan Bissonnette, a TTC spokesperson, said the city has also hired a community liaison to talk with the other businesses and homeowners on the route, and try to mitigate problems.Chin Lee, a local city councillor and BIA member, said he's talked with management of Agincourt Mall and the condominium-style Oriental Centre at Brimley Road about the project, adding he plans to host a public meeting with the TTC in the New Year.Lee said there are still issues to resolve, and business owners on Sheppard may have their life savings on the line."If they lose that, they lose everything," he said. "These people will see the pain if we don't do a proper job."