Subway project ahead of schedule, while businesses still fall behind

Indiziert: 2026-05-22

[00:00:01]For Ron MacGillivary, the owner of Fable Diner, seeing vehicle traffic flowing through this stretch of Broadway again is bittersweet. It's devastating. Like it's like a natural disaster for us.

[00:00:12]MacGillivary says construction outside his diner has turned his business on its head. He significantly reduced its hours, laid off staff, and even sold his house hoping to keep his business open by the time construction is complete. I don't know if we can make it to that point. Like I I'm going to decide [music] by the end of May if I you know, can stay in this business past September 1st. While two lanes are open to vehicle traffic, MacGillivary says the barriers along the walkway that will be in place until sometime in July significantly reduces foot traffic.

[00:00:46]We're still down 45% in sales [music] and we're down about 55% in profit. Despite calls for financial relief from government, the Ministry of Transportation says the province does not provide compensation for disruptions arising from construction.

[00:01:04]Meantime, down the road, Matthew Greenwood, owner of Up In Smoke Cannabis, is preparing for the next wave of expected months-long closures this summer. Uh the reality is is that people have not been encouraged to continue their journey along Broadway and Cambie, and all the businesses around here have have definitely felt that. Greenwood says online orders have been a major factor for staying in business as he's seen a 50% drop in foot traffic since the subway line project began. A project that he says has turned Broadway into a strip of vacancies. This used to be the high-end bike corridor of Vancouver.

[00:01:41]Like we had the Bicycle Hub, we had Dunbar Cycles, we had the Bike Doctor.

[00:01:45]They're all gone. With more closures between Broadway and Cambie expected soon, the uncertainty surrounding the project continues to weigh heavily on the future of the corridor. Joe Sadowski, City News, Vancouver.