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Calgarians driving into the southwest community of Marda Loop will be met with bumper-to-bumper traffic and delays for the next several months, much to the frustration of nearby local businesses.

Upgrades on the main streets including 33rd and 34thAvenue S.W. are now underway which include the creation of a multi-use pathway, new sidewalks, and improved pedestrian crossings.

The project won’t be completed until November and with parking in the area already at a premium, some business owners worry about the potential of drastic revenue losses.

“We train just under 200 people every single day in our gym and they all look for street parking,” said Martin Venneri, the owner of F45 Marda Loop.

“We run on a class-based schedule, which means people have to be here at a certain time and we’re finding people showing up late or maybe not showing up so this situation is definitely affecting us,” Venneri said.

He added that some sections of Marda Loop also have ‘no parking’ signs up, while no construction is taking place nearby.

“It really just doesn’t make any sense.”

Other locations along 33rd Avenue like Merchants Restaurant are also feeling the impact, noting that customers are less inclined to dine in the area because of how busy it has become.

“It’s kind of a nightmare in Marda Loop, the traffic is already a huge issue and now it’s getting even worse,” said Merchants spokesperson Karla Medkov.

“There’s also a lot of new apartment buildings in the area but the parking problem really effects us.”

Meanwhile, some business owners like Cameron Fraser note that his team is still recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The owner of Fraser & Fig called on the city to implement subsidies and further relief as construction delays cause greater revenue losses.

“The city should keep our tax rate at what it was prior because having my taxes go up 50 per cent or more in one year while this is happening is really frustrating,” he said.

“It’s almost like they’re trying to hamstring small business, but doing all of this at once by raising taxes and having all this construction.”

CITY COMMITS TO MINIMAL DELAYS IN MARDA LOOP

The city said it is working closely with the Marda Loop BIA to ensure Calgarians know that Marda Loop is still open to enjoy the upcoming Marda Gras festival and summer night markets.

“Construction is variable. Although we do our best to plan accordingly to reduce the impacts on residents, constriction in an older community like Marda Loop means that sometimes we run into surprises,” read a statement on the city’s website.

“We don’t anticipate any issues, but timelines could change should we discover any unexpected conditions. We expect to see adjustments to our schedule throughout the construction season.”

Ward 8 Councillor Kourtney Walcott also provided a statement to CTV News on Thursday.

He said infrastructure projects are some of “the most important investments a city can make”, but they are not without challenges during construction.

Walcott added that the possibility of business relief is not out of the realm.

“Calls for small business relief when facing construction is both a fair and logical request to ensure that small businesses can stay afloat during construction turbulence, while looking toward thriving after the projects are done,” he said.

“There are significant limitations regarding how Calgary could do this, but they are worth exploring. This will take some time because every project is different, and every business is unique, but it does not hurt to see what options can be put on the table.”

Mayor Jyoti Gondek also issued the following statement:

“Upgrades to roads, sidewalks and community infrastructure are necessary to meet the needs of a growing city. However, for local businesses, the construction season can become a challenging case of short-term pain for long-term gain.

“The city has several dedicated teams that work with business improvement areas to ensure proactive communication and improved coordination of projects. 

“We should also look beyond what we do today to examine other opportunities to possibly reduce the impact of such projects on the bottom line of businesses. I would expect city administration to be looking closely at what other municipalities are doing to see if local businesses might benefit from a similar approach here in Calgary.

CFIB CALLS ON CITY FOR SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is encouraging the City of Calgary to consider the introduction of a construction mitigation program to assist businesses while accessibility to their storefronts is impacted.

CFIB Alberta Director, Annie Dormuth, cited a recent City of Montreal initiative in which small businesses affected by construction were provided a small lump sum grant of $5,000.

She also encourages the city to implement:

•        A compensation program to assist businesses with revenue losses because of construction projects impacting access to their businesses (i.e. property tax relief or other tax relief during the construction period).
•        A ‘no surprise’ rule to give businesses fair warning when construction will take place.
•        Formal written shutdown orders so that businesses are able to collect insurance for lost revenue.
•        A comprehensive planning or ‘one dig’ approach to avoiding multiple disruptions.

“We are already hearing from some businesses reporting some revenue losses in these communities because simply customers are either avoiding the area altogether,” said Dormuth.

“Our latest report on construction mitigation reported at around 40 per cent of businesses across Canada have experienced negative impacts of construction and of those, five per cent have had to close altogether or relocate because of the construction.”