'Another blow to small businesses': St. Thomas, Ont. to rip up Talbot Street for months

Sections of the main corridor in St. Thomas will be ripped up for months from March to October.

Phase one of the project will begin in March at Mary Street and continue to city hall. Phase two from July to October will see White Street to Ross Street under construction.

“The underground infrastructure has reached the end of its lifecycle,” said Patrick Anckaert, manager of capital works for the City of St. Thomas. “So it is time to renew...both the sanitary [infrastructure] and the water main.”

However many businesses located downtown are not happy with the timing.

“Coming right off the COVID shut downs and of course with the economy with inflation and everything, it's a pretty trying time to be doing something this drastic to the small businesses,” said Renee Carpenter, owner of Jennings Furniture.

But the city counters the work is essential for functioning sewers and safe drinking water.

The 2023 construction will be a continuation of the west end phase, and will include rail-themed benches, planters and new brick sidewalks (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

The city will pick up construction where they left off in 2018, when they rebuilt the west end of Talbot Street.

“It's an updated streetscape, so it's rail themed,” says Anckaert. “There's some really neat benches, and planters. It's just been it's updated to the current century.”

This new construction includes accessible crossings with flashing lights, and will retain the Pride and Indigenous crosswalks near Mondamin Street.

Despite construction, businesses will have access to their front door for the majority of the project. There will be fencing, which will allow pedestrian access on the sidewalks.

“The downside is there will be about five days it sounds like per business where they're not going to have access to their front doors,” said Grayden Laing, vice president of the Downtown Development Board. “So if you don't have backdoor access, the biggest pain point is the fact that you know you'll be shut down for about five days.”

While Jennings Furniture has a rear entrance, it is not visually appealing. 

Some businesses who spoke to CTV News London said they are worried about survival during the four-month stretch of construction.

Talbot St. in St. Thomas, Ont. is about to undergo a months-long reconstruction to upgrade sanitary infrastructure and water mains. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

Mugford Shoes plans to re-locate during the construction period, potentially to Elgin Centre.

For many local shops, the 2018 construction, followed by two long closures due to COVID, as well as issues with homelessness downtown and now the construction plan has them facing “five setbacks in a row.”

“You know I don't think there ever is a good time for this but especially right now when it's been so trying for so many,” said Carpenter. “When it’s finished it will be lovely, but there are some major issues to deal with until then.”

The city said construction will include tight schedule deadlines and financial penalties to ensure it is completed quickly. The project, which will be tendered to the lowest bidder, is subject to approval by council next month.

“We're going to have a better streetscape,” said Laing, who is hoping everyone can get through this. “As a result of that, more customers are going to come downtown and they're going to go into those businesses. So overall a big positive.”

For more information on the project, you can visit the City of St. Thomas website.