Bus stop change taking joy out of Christmas season for block of Academy Road businesses

Business owners along a block of Academy Road are concerned that a new bus stop outside their doors will put a damper on foot traffic during their busiest time of the year.

Winnipeg Transit is moving an existing bus stop on the south side of Academy Road at Niagara Street a block west, where several retail shops and a barber are located with street parking at their door. Some of those parking spaces will be lost in order to accommodate the new stop.

The relocation is part of the city’s transit system overhaul and a systemic review of all bus stop locations.

The bus stop will impact European Shoe Shop, Central Barber Shop and Maggie Grace Boutique and Salt Boutique, located between 436 and 444 Academy Road.

The stop’s new location in front of Maggie Grace Boutique could have significant impacts on operations, according to owner Karleigh Evans.

“It’s going to have impacts on my clients with mobility issues… I’ve been telling all of them about this, and they’re concerned that they’re not able to come and shop,” said Karleigh Evans, who owns Maggie Grace Boutique.

“So, already we are feeling the potential impacts of it.”

The change takes place 10 days before Christmas.

“It’s going to have impacts on my clients with mobility issues… they’re concerned that they’re not able to come and shop.”

“This is a crucial time of year for all of us,” Evans said.

The new location places the bus stop closer to a controlled intersection, which is the city’s effort to make it safer and easier for pedestrians to cross the street to catch their bus, according to Winnipeg Transit spokesperson Brandon Logan.

In an email, Logan said the overhaul would add more parking spaces along Academy, including three to six spots in the immediate area surrounding the four businesses.

As part of broader parking changes along Academy Road between Route 90 and Harrow Street, 45 spaces will be added and nine will be removed, Logan said.

Evans said the changes will directly impact shoppers going to her clothing shop and the other businesses on that block.

“We have just been begging the City of Winnipeg to listen to us. We’re just really scared for the future of our business.”

She noted there is no parking off the lane behind the shops and deliveries will be affected.

The four businesses were notified of the changes in October, but the owners say they are frustrated with the lack of consultation.

“We have just been begging the City of Winnipeg to listen to us,” said Laurel Penner, owner of Salt Living. “We’re just really scared for the future of our business.”

Evans said she feels the city is siding with transit riders over businesses.

The bus stop at its current location serves about 45 riders each weekday.

“We all agree we will not support politicians that knowingly harm small businesses in this city.”

“They outweighed those 45 people over the countless amounts of people that could be using those parking spots throughout a business day for any four of our businesses,” Evans said.

“One person that parks there could come in and spend enough for me to pay my rent that month.”

A similar situation occurred in May, when several bus stops were relocated along Stafford Street and Grosvenor Avenue, changing street parking along those routes and raising concerns among business owners there.

At the time, area councillor John Orlikow said he would speak with Transit and explore possible alternatives. The plan wasn’t altered and the changes went ahead as planned.

Several of the businesses directly impacted by those changes couldn’t be reached for comment Monday.

Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry) said Monday he would make similar efforts as he did in May and work with the city to explore alternatives.

“It looks like (the city) looked at best-case scenario, how to do transit, and they went forward with it. But we have to remember the city runs for the people, including those businesses, so we have to be doing way better,” he said.

Logan said the city reviewed several potential bus stop options and decided the current plan offered the best balance of pedestrian safety and increased parking availability.

With a civic election coming next year, Evans and Penner say the situation has influenced how they will cast their ballots.

“We all agree we will not support politicians that knowingly harm small businesses in this city,” Evans said.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca

Nicole Buffie
Multimedia producer

Nicole Buffie is a reporter for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom as a multimedia producer in 2023. Read more about Nicole.

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