Dundas Street West businesses grapple with prolonged construction due to sinkhole

On Nov. 24, Toronto Water received a call for a blocked sewer and hoped to replace a damaged pipe underground, but later found a “large void” under the TTC tracks.

Thestar.com
Dec. 5, 2022
Clarrie Feinstein

Construction along Dundas Street West has been prolonged by weeks after construction workers found a sinkhole, causing problems for local businesses struggling to make up for lost profits from the pandemic.

On Nov. 24, Toronto Water received a call for a blocked sewer. Hoping to replace a damaged pipe underground, they later found a “large void” under the TTC tracks, said William Shea, director of distribution and collection for Toronto Water.

“It was determined that the damaged sewer service and sewer main had allowed soil to enter the sewer, creating the void over time,” he said in a statement to the Star.

Initially repairs were expected to take about a week, but now track work won’t be done until the end of the month, he said.

The construction is taking place between Brock and Sheridan avenues. Drivers and cyclists must take alternative routes and the streetcar is being diverted. But sidewalks remain open for pedestrian traffic.

The additional construction will cost local businesses in the area and most are already feeling the impact, said Michelle Genttner, co-owner of local grocer Unboxed Market.

“Transit users are now having to bypass our area and it was already an alternative route for the construction along College Street,” she said. “People tell me they’d love to come by the store but will have to figure out a different way to get here or go somewhere else. It sucks.”

Because Genttner operates a grocery store, people are still coming to buy the necessities. But the construction compounded with the last two years of COVID-19 lockdowns is hurting businesses.

“This is also when holiday shopping begins and, with fewer transit users and people driving or walking by, it hurts sales,” she said.

Abra Shriner says her bar Swan Dive has suffered because of the sinkhole disruption. Dundas Street West between Sheridan and Brock Streets remains closed as the city repairs a huge sinkhole that appeared  in the centre of the street in front of Lula Lounge and is disrupting local businesses in Toronto, December 4, 2022.  Steve Russell/Toronto Star

Abra Shriner, known as the “crazy old bar mom” at local bar Swan Dive, said weekdays have slowed down significantly and business is “half of what it should be.”

The bar relies on transit users and having that access cut off for at least a month is discouraging.

“The work the city is doing is necessary, but we’re already climbing out of the COVID-19 hole. We struggled to survive, like many businesses, and we’re having to stand up on our own two feet to try and recover and cover the rent,” she said.

While car traffic will hopefully be running in two weeks, the streetcar service will be diverted until the end of the month. But people going to bars often don’t take their cars downtown, preferring to walk or take transit, Shriner said.

“Our customers come from the east and there isn’t any access for them at the moment,” she added. “The streetcar stops right outside our bar and we don’t have it anymore.”

Weekends are typically the busiest for stores, but Derek Madison, owner of Grasshopper Records, said Saturday was an “incredibly slow” day with hardly any customers.

Having been in the area for 15 years, Madison loves his record store and meeting customers from around the city, but the pandemic has taken a toll.

“It’s been a tough couple of years, just crazy,” he said. Now, with the construction, his typically busy weekends are quiet.

“I don’t know how long the construction will go on for and it’s freaking me out,” he said.

Businesses said the sudden nature of the sinkhole discovery meant there was no time to prepare or plan for the road closure.

At Lula Lounge, a venue for salsa, jazz and world music, many new clients and regulars come for salsa dancing or shows, and are calling to ask about alternative routes to the venue.

“We’re trying to get the word out that we’re definitely still open as usual with lots of great music happening over the rest of the month,” said manager Tracy Jenkins.

“We’re also hoping to work together with some of the other bars and restaurants and cafes in the neighbourhood to plan some special programming for the rest of December and January to attract music and food lovers back to the block,” she added.

Businesses are trying to work around the situation, but Shriner said it will be “a cold, hard winter ahead.”