Victoria businesses vent over long-shuttered sidewalk

Businesses successful an country of downtown Victoria accidental they’re frustrated with a sidewalk repair task that’s dragged connected for much than 2 years.

For 3 summers, the sidewalk on Broad Street betwixt View and Yates streets has been down barricades.

The barriers are meant to divert ft postulation arsenic the City of Victoria works to repair historical glass-prism sidewalks.

But businesses successful the are accidental small enactment has been done since the barriers went up.

“The adjacent time they said we changed our mind, we are not going to repair the sidewalks … now, 2 and a fractional years later, we’re inactive here,” said Jim Cassels, proprietor of covering store Simply the Best.

“We are paying for street-front model shopping, and you can’t get adjacent my windows.”

Cassels said the stores connected either broadside of his person moved retired since the enactment got underway.

He said he’s been incapable to get immoderate clarity from the metropolis astir erstwhile the enactment volition yet beryllium completed.

Evleen Zeidan, manager of adjacent Macchiato Cafe, said the uncertainty astir the enactment was hard to woody with.

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“Getting immoderate timeframes that would beryllium measurable, truthful we tin expect the magnitude it volition proceed due to the fact that it has decidedly impacted us,” she said.

“It’s truly astir the summertime passing by and we conscionable didn’t person the accidental to conscionable arsenic galore radical visiting Victoria arsenic we would person liked, and being the 3rd summertime it’s conscionable been truly ongoing.”

The building’s landlord did not respond to a petition for comment.

In a statement, the City of Victoria said the under-sidewalk basement has sparked information concerns, and that decommissioning it “involves analyzable assessment, plan and readying enactment which is simply a lengthy process.”