Construction on Valley Line West LRT continues to plague Stony Plain Road businesses

Businesses on Stony Plain Road are fed up.

A section of the street remains closed and sidewalks are torn up as construction continues on the Valley Line West LRT, which will link Lewis Farms with downtown.

It means fewer parking spaces and fewer pedestrians.

LRT construction impeding several businesses – between 131 Street and 139 Street – was supposed to wrap up at the beginning of November. It’s now looking like December.

For the Stony Plain Road Business Association (SPRBA), it feels like there’s no end in sight.

“It’s been almost 19 months and we still don’t have sidewalks along that strip,” said Todd Janes, the association’s executive director.

“I think businesses went into it with ‘OK, we’re going to buckle down and deal with it for a while,’ and now they are losing a lot of patience and faith.”

CityNews spoke to a business owner in the area who wished to remain anonymous. They expressed frustration with the construction and delays, saying they have been struggling to get customers through the door.

Edmonton Coun. Andrew Knack says he is putting forward a motion Wednesday to compensate businesses that suffer significant financial losses as a result of any major construction project in the city.

“Every week you add is very challenging for a small business,” said Knack.

“This is not meant to only focus on West End businesses. This is not only a West End issue; this is a city-wide issue.”

This will be the third time Knack attempts to pass the motion. He says changes have been made to get more councillors on board.

“Looking to direct that money directly to the business owners, making sure there is a cap, a potential repayment option, those are all things that weren’t originally in the previous policy, that I hope will help address some of the concerns, and allow folks to feel more comfortable with a program that is meant to make sure businesses can make it through these major construction projects,” said Knack.

“For small businesses, they need to make it through to the end of construction in order to see that relief.”

Marigold, the company doing the construction work on the Valley Line West LRT, pointed to three reasons behind delays: discovering inadequate infrastructure that needed to be upgraded; a skilled labour shortage; and an “uncharacteristically wet” year.

Marigold says the Stony Plain Road Bridge is still on track to be opened by fall of next year.