East Hamilton businesses see drastic drop in sales as construction continues

It has been a week since a major intersection in Hamilton closed for Light Rail Transit (LRT)-related upgrades.

Businesses in the area of Ottawa Street North and Main Street East are already feeling the financial effects, with months still to go until the project is expected to complete.

The manager of a local flower stand and the manager of a nearby Dairy Queen restaurant say that while they usually see a lot of traffic and sales during this time of year, ever since the road closure, their sales have been cut in half.

“It’s a big difference,” said Susan Joseph, the manager of the Flower Lot at the corner of Ottawa Street South and Main Street East.

Joseph’s shop has signs advertising their colourful assortments, with no one to see them.

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She says the flower stand relies heavily on people driving or walking by.

“They were driving by and see how nice the stuff was, so they come in to check it out — we get a lot of that, and a lot of foot traffic,” said Joseph.

With the usually busy Main Street closed for construction, businesses in the area are now starting to feel it in their wallets.

“We’re down over half,” said Joseph.

“We probably lost about 80 per cent of our sales,” said Ian Naling, the manager of the Busy Bee Food Mart near the intersection of Ottawa

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“I could go at least a solid two hours and not see a singular customer right now,” said Alison Puper, the manager of the Dairy Queen at Main Street East and London Street North.

Last Monday, traffic was closed in all directions at the Ottawa Street North and Main Street East intersection.

The roads are getting an infrastructure improvement as part of a project supporting the future construction of the Hamilton LRT, including watermain and sewer installation, road reconstruction and resurfacing, and utility relocations.

The work is expected to take around four months to complete.

Fences line the sidewalks, with the entrance to the nearby Dairy Queen restaurant becoming only accessible through a thin corridor.

READ MORE: Construction prep begins for busy Hamilton intersection closure

“Usually at night we’re dropping anywhere between $600 and $700 on a good day,” said Puper. “Now we’re probably dropping like $200 maybe.”

The businesses are reminding people that they’re still open, and they’re considering how they’re going to handle the next four months.

“Only thing we can do is, honestly, put in some more sale prices — anything to entice customers to come to the store,” said Naling.

“We have been posting on Facebook and on our website, and we have labeled the streets to come down,” said Joseph.

Joseph says one silver lining in all of this is that the construction workers have been very helpful with allowing customers to safely come into her lot, and also says some of the construction workers have become her customers too.

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“They’re great, they’re very accommodating, I have customers that park across the street — if they’re around, they make sure none of the construction vehicles come through and they cross safely,” said Joseph.

In the meantime, some businesses are asking the city for some relief as they deal with this.

“I spoke to somebody from the city to see if anybody could give us any financial aid, but they haven’t gotten back to me yet,” said Naling.

“Basically, all I’m taking in now is enough to pay staff,” said Joseph.

In a statement to CHCH News from the City of Hamilton says it recognizes the challenges that the construction can have for local businesses.

It further says that the construction is progressing as planned, and is expected to take around four months to complete.

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