Southeast BRT completion spells relief for International Avenue businesses

Business owners along International Avenue are celebrating the end of a nightmarish 1 years of construction outside their businesses.

A new transitwayof dedicated bus lanes was constructed along the middle of17thAvenue S.E., beginningin May2017, leaving businesses struggling with customers finding it difficultto navigate the construction orstaying away altogether.

• City preps for transit changes with official launch of BRT routes

As well as creatingone of three new bus rapid transit routes in the city, the work also includes abroader makeover forInternational Avenue with wider sidewalks, new landscaping, lighting and public art at all of the local BRT stops.

While some work continues to tie up loose ends along 17thAvenue, local businesses are glad to see the end of construction signs, confusionand traffic snarls.

"It was hard, a little bit hard," saidKartiniCasdam, owner of the Indonesia Kitchen restaurant.

"My customers, lots come from the northwest and deep southand they found it so difficult, andlots of the them are elderly, so I found we were down in business," said Casdam.

"I have a big hope and I think business is going to be great for everybody here now. Everybody was so patient and I think it's worth it. I'm really excited," Casdam said.

At times during construction, there was no parking or sidewalks outside businesses, with some reporting their takings had been cut in half and some forced to lay off staff to survive.

"It was a very tough time for all businesses," said Sam Elkadri, owner of The Desert Pita & Grill, which serveskebabs and Lebanese food.

"We are so happy, finally. We were waiting a long time, overa year-and-a-half," saidElkadri.

"SeventeenthAvenue will be very important in Calgary here now. I was waiting for a long time for this to happen, and thank God finally it's done," said Elkadri.

The work to upgrade 17thAvenue beyond the BRTroute and stationshas been more than 20 years in the making, according the International Avenue BRZ.

"It's quite monumental. Two years and there was a complete and utter redesign of the street, including underground utilities and everything," said Alison Karim-McSwiney.

"A number of businesses knew it was coming but the reality is when it does hit it's still a bit of a shock and no question it did impact them," said Karim-McSwiney, who says traffic dropped considerably from the usual 42,000 vehicles per day along the strip.

While seven business closed their doors during the construction phase, Karim-McSwiney says 16 new businesses opened.

"The ones that closed, there were some that were retired and some, frankly, were struggling to begin with, and it was the final nail in the coffin for some of them," she said.

The streetwas originally designed for carsbut the upgraded version is nowwalkable, accommodating bicycles and making it easier for people to explore viatransit.

Anothernew feature is drivers can now make legal U-turns along the busy strip, improving access to businesses.

Karim-McSwiney hopesthe new BRTconnection will see more urban explorers coming to check out 17thAvenue's rich international culinary district and specialty stores.

"It's a huge improvement for everyone," she said.

• MORE ALBERTA NEWS |Energy firms split on call for government-imposed production cuts
• MORE ALBERTA NEWS |7 accessible trails across Alberta reflect volunteer's passion for nature
• Read more articles byCBC Calgary, like us onFacebookfor updates and subscribe to ourCBC Calgary newsletterfor the day's news at a glance