For business owners like Davina Winer, the resistance to installing dedicated bus lanes on Bathurst Street isn’t a fight against transit, it’s a fight for better accessibility and less congestion in the area.
“I have a lot of clients that are not perfectly able bodied… This is making it incredibly inaccessible, and I think it’s really discriminating,” Winer told Now Toronto.
Winer, who owns The Showroom in the Annex neighbourhood, says most of her clients rely on vehicles to get to the area, especially those who are unable to take transit because of accessibility needs, and says installing dedicated bus lanes would leave them without parking and accessible ways to access the store.
“The whole reason people come to the Annex is because they can and it’s accessible,” she said.
To keep it accessible, she, along with many other businesses along the stretch of Bathurst and Dupont have incorporated new signage in front of their businesses informing locals of the city’s plan; many of the signs warn that businesses “might have to close” because of the bus lanes.
Read More
The bus lanes are part of the city and TTC’s RapidTO transit plan; if approved, dedicated bus lanes for transit vehicles, emergency vehicles, and cyclists will be installed from Eglinton Avenue West to Lake Shore Boulevard West , which means vehicles lose a lane, and customers lose curbside parking.
The dedicated lanes have also been proposed on a stretch of Dufferin Street.
Winer says little-to-no consultation was done with business owners and residences.
“We’re a community and we’re a family here, and in one full swoop, they’re taking all of that without any notice,” she said.
Feelings of frustration and worry are also being felt by neighbouring business owner Victoria McGroarty, who worries for residents in the area who may have to deal with an uptick in congestion if lanes on Bathurst are removed.
“The traffic is going to go into the neighborhoods… When people are looking to divert off of Bathurst because it’s just going to be at a standstill, because it will be down to one lane of traffic,” McGroarty tells Now Toronto.
@nowtoronto TTC riders are reacting to the city’s plan to install rapid bus lanes on Dufferin St. #TTC #Dufferin ♬ original sound – Now Toronto
McGroarty, who owns plus-sized clothing store Gussied Up, has lived in the neighbourhood her whole life, and says the businesses in the area are truly fearful that closure could be inevitable if the project moves forward, and says day-to-day operations will become barriers without curbside parking.
“We rely on deliveries every day and so we won’t have access, as it stands, to get our deliveries,” she said.
McGroarty has also installed the signage in front of her door. She says many of her neighbours have as well, and says the support is strong.
“We also have educational signs, just saying what the proposal is and how it’s going to affect not only the businesses, but the neighbourhood residents as well,” she said.
McGroarty also highlights that she is not against better transit, and says dedicated lanes during rush hour could be a better solution instead of 24 hours a day.
The city has yet to approve the project and has given residents until May 27 to provide feedback using an online survey.
