What to know
- The Eglinton Crosstown LRT opened after 15 years of construction, but many in Toronto’s Little Jamaica say the project devastated local businesses and altered the community’s cultural fabric.
- Longtime business owners who survived the disruption describe the opening as bittersweet, mourning neighbours who were forced to close due to lost foot traffic.
- While hopeful the new transit line will bring customers back, business owners say recovery will require meaningful reinvestment from all levels of government.
- The City of Toronto and Metrolinx say they provided funding, promotions and support initiatives during construction, but residents say more is needed to rebuild the community.
After 15 years of construction, the Eglinton Crosstown LRT finally opened its doors to riders on Feb. 8. While some residents celebrated the long-awaited launch, Toronto’s Little Jamaica community continues to mourn the loss of several businesses forced to close during years of disruptive construction that tore through the neighbourhood.
Andre Crichlow says his business, Just Incredible Hair, managed to survive, as it has for more than 30 years, but only while watching many of his neighbours succumb to the prolonged construction.
“It completely destroyed the neighbourhood. It removed most of the businesses,” he said. “A lot of people could not survive without the legwork and the people walking through like it used to be.”
Crichlow says the community was once vibrant and full of life, making the LRT’s completion feel “bittersweet.” Many residents, he says, blame the construction for a significant shift in Little Jamaica’s culture.
Still, he hopes the transit line can help bring back the foot traffic that was lost and spark a revival.
“Somehow we have to build it back, and we’re going to stick with each other and work with each other and try and get these customers to come back and see that we’re still here,” he said.
Aunty Donna, a staff member at Delicious in Little Jamaica, agrees the past several years have been difficult and emphasizes that many businesses struggled and ultimately closed.
Now, she’s hopeful the LRT can improve conditions in the area.
“I hope it brings customers in. I’m very happy it opened, it should have happened a long time ago,” she said.
Her business has stood for a decade and was one of the few that survived construction, but she says the toll on the community is impossible to forget.
“It was horrible. Everybody just ran to their bus, they never stopped to buy anything,” she said.
Both Crichlow and Aunty Donna say that now the LRT is complete, the city and all levels of government must shift their focus toward reinvesting in the community.
“Promotion? Absolutely. Some kind of funding? Absolutely,” Crichlow said. “We need some kind of community-building money. We need the city to reinvest in what they destroyed. I know that sounds harsh, but it’s a simple fact.”
Aunty Donna emphasizes that Little Jamaica has played a vital role in shaping Toronto’s identity and says supporting the community should be a priority.
“We helped build this country. We came here and cleaned the mess,” she said. “Jamaica needs somewhere to call home, and Eglinton is our home.”
In a statement to Now Toronto, the City of Toronto said it continues to work with the Little Jamaica BIA and local stakeholders to address the impacts of transit expansion. The city says it has provided more than $300,000 over the past two years to support local economic activity.
“In addition, more than $140,000 has been invested in community arts initiatives in Little Jamaica over the same period,” the statement said. “These investments support cultural promotion and economic vitality in the neighbourhood.”
Provincial transit agency Metrolinx told Now Toronto that to reduce impacts during construction, it worked with local businesses to provide supports such as annual promotions and marketing campaigns encouraging residents to “shop local,” procuring goods and services from area businesses, installing “Open for Business” and wayfinding signage, and forming a Construction Liaison Committee.
