BIA angry with province as Broadway Subway construction shutters Vancouver businesses

Emotions are running high for business owners on Broadway in Vancouver as construction of the highly anticipated subway line drags on.

“The outlook is desperate,” said Neil Wyles, executive director of the Mount Pleasant Business Improvement Association. “We still have another two years to go.”

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Wyles points out Sept. 18 should have “technically” been the opening date. Instead, the train is expected to be operational by 2027, following multiple delays.

In addition to multiple restaurants having closed, he says, of all things, a bank has been forced to shut down.

“We are losing businesses along Broadway. It feels like something every week, every couple of weeks. Good, viable restaurants. It’s not like, ‘Oh, maybe this concept didn’t work. They have other locations.’ They are viable. We recently lost Café Artigiano. One of the biggest, telling things is a bank just closed. We lost a bank. So, you know the situation is dire when something like a bank leaves. We’re seeing so much vacancy along Broadway, which is feet away from Main Street, which is bustling and vibrant, very low vacancy and along Broadway it’s incredibly high.”

Wyles isn’t picking a beef with how the City of Vancouver has dealt with any concerns, but has seething anger towards the provincial government.

“The words escape me as to what I think of the province and their policies that they create themselves to protect themselves, using their policy as an excuse and a shield not to do anything.”

The Ministry of Transportation previously told 1130 NewsRadio it was not committing to providing compensation to businesses affected.

Wyles doesn’t feel that’s good enough.

“This will be seven years, and these businesses didn’t plan on that, and there’s just no help coming. Zero. Nothing. And it’s abhorrent. I know the province is facing their own hardships, but nothing like the hardship these folks are facing.”

He warns there are serious ramifications, especially for small business owners, who lose everything.

“If something goes wrong with their business, these financial issues follow them into their private life. Anyone out there who has a small business knows there are very blurred lines between your personal finances and your business finances and when the business goes under, you don’t just get to walk away and go, ‘Oh well. Too bad, so sad.’ Those loans, those commitments, those lines of credit — all of those things follow these businesses into their private life, and for many years.”

Wyles says the city hall hasn’t provided anything like rent relief or waiving the fee for a business licence.

“There are some programs out there for some property tax relief, but it’s a very, very fine line and a very strict set of criteria for that relief. Not that we’re not appreciative of that, but it’s really hard to get it, and construction is not one of the criteria.”

Construction began in 2020, but Wyles says over the years, he’s lost track of how many businesses closed.

“I stopped counting when it was like 80 businesses. Eighty ‘for lease’ signs. Eighty places that were papered up. It was like, ‘What’s the point?’ And they just keep coming. These are good, viable businesses. They’re not something like, ‘Let’s just try and see if we can do this and if it works.’ These are good, viable businesses that are working elsewhere. The common denominator here is what’s going on on Broadway, the lack of support, people staying away from Broadway.”

He says foot traffic is down, and it’s harder to find parking, given the visual distraction of lane closures, crews and all the signage.

“I just keep hearing the same line from the province, ‘There’s nothing we can do. There’s nothing we can do. There’s nothing we can do.’ The two MLAs here, one of them is Brenda Bailey, she’s the minister of finance and the other MLA here is Christine Boyle, and she’s the minister of housing. Very high-profile ministers who represent all the businesses here along Broadway, and we still can’t get any action.”

The province has long touted that there will be economic spin-off for businesses along the busy corridor once the train is operational, but Wyles isn’t sure that current-day businesses can stay open long enough to reap any benefits.

“As we look forward to fall of 2027, when the line is complete, will it still be a wasteland? And then what was it all for?”

The project is at least $127 million over budget.

The 5.7-kilometre extension of the Millennium Line, from VCC-Clark Station to Arbutus, is expected to alleviate traffic on the road and get students to UBC even faster. The province says 700 metres is elevated and five kilometres is tunnelled below ground, and will include six underground stations.

—With files from Cecilia Hua.