Skylar Soroka | The Kingston Whig Standard
In the aftermath of the LaSalle Causeway bridge closure, downtown Kingston tourism looks different — and some small businesses say they are suffering. For Zoe Yanovsky, owner of Chez Piggy Restaurant and Pan Chancho Bakery and Café, the closure has had a significant impact. As a small business owner who relies heavily on tourism for sales, the effects have been real and definite.
“It’s probably bigger than I had first anticipated,” Yanovsky said in an interview.
In terms of sales and revenue, Yanovsky said her businesses have experienced a decline of 10 to 15 per cent compared to last year.
Yanovsky explained that, as a Kingston small business owner, everything affects business — weather, traffic, tourism, Queen’s University being in or out of session, and more.
Although Kingstonians are vitally important to business, the causeway’s closure, combined with the shift in atmosphere during tourist season and the departure of students, creates significant changes for businesses.
For the city’s east-enders, who are essential to Downtown Kingston businesses both as customers and owners, the commute across the waterway has heightened frustrations. Yanovsky faces these challenges two-fold, being both a restaurant owner and an east-end resident.
“What was a $20 cab ride for me is now a $50 cab ride. The Waaban Crossing is an option, but the traffic is just unmanageable,” she said. “The east-end customers are a real loss.”
Door to door, Yanovsky used to reach downtown in 12 minutes, or up to 20 minutes at most. Now, she must take a longer route via Hwy. 401, exiting at Division Street or Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard. Growing up knowing the causeway to be the only way to get downtown and now seeing it in shambles is a tragedy for Yanovsky.
At the start of the closure, when the waterway was blocked, it significantly affected boaters and visitors from the United States and the 1000 Islands region. Since June 20, the causeway being open for marine navigation has certainly been helpful in Yanovsky’s perspective.
Yanovsky is counting on progress toward a permanent bridge, while the temporary modular bridge is expected to be ready next month.
The modular bridge is not a permanent solution, as it must be removed in the summer to reopen the waterway. She emphasized losing summer business, which is crucial for sustaining operations through the slow winter months, remains a significant concern.
Similar to Yanovsky, Jennawae Cavion, owner of Calyx + Trichomes needs the causeway to sustain business. Operating east- and west-end locations, Calyx + Trichomes offers delivery services spanning Kingston and Amherstview, typically including the east end.
The causeway closure, which the business typically uses multiple times a day for deliveries to the Royal Military College, has forced them to suspend service in that area, Cavion said in a statement. Traffic at the Waaban Crossing has become extremely congested, mirroring Yanovsky’s experience.
Cavion hopes the causeway will open soon to continue supporting their east-end customers.
Before the bridge was damaged on March 30, the number of pedestrians was 15 per cent higher than the previous year, confirmed Marijo Cuerrier, Downtown Kingston Business Improvement Area (DBIA) executive director.
After the closure, the number of pedestrians dropped to eight per cent lower than the previous year. Since then, pedestrian counts have remained between eight per cent and 30 per cent lower compared to last year.
The bridge, connecting eastern Kingston and downtown, remains closed to all motor vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists.
Cuerrier explained although tourist numbers saw a slight recovery in May and June, reaching levels mimicking those of the past two years, spending “isn’t there.”
“We’ve got the same amount of pedestrians that we had here last year, but they’re not spending the way they used to,” Currier said in an interview. “The only thing we can speculate from that is that it’s most likely most of the pedestrians that are down here right now are people who live and work down here. Then on the weekends, of course, we have a little bit of a push from tourism, but tourism is also soft this year across Ontario.”
To increase tourism and boost attraction measures, DBIA is doing what they always do — hosting “very successful events.”
Summer events range from Buskers Rendezvous, a street-performer festival which ran from July 4 to 7, to four Princess Street Promenades this year instead of the usual three seasonal three. The influx of events is being organized in a commitment to give retailers and restaurants a boost.
Yanovsky, a member of the DBIA, acknowledges the organization as strong advocates for Downtown Kingston, but notes the uncertainty surrounding the causeway issue. While she is unsure of the exact actions of the DBIA, she believes it is advocating for necessary improvements.
