Addressing the fears of downtown businesses

History shows us you can’t stop change, and turning down LRT would be costly

Of all the correspondence I receive regarding my columns on LRT, the ones from the people with businesses along the route are the most problematic to answer. And I apologize to those who I’ve let drop. They are angry that I am so callous regarding their fate. They are certain their business will suffer. They are indignant that the city has left them out to dry. They want more money.

I don’t know who they are; they don’t identify their business by name. I don’t ask. I don’t want my reasoning to be clouded by who they are or “feel sorry” for their story. I do, of course. I’m only human. So it sets up a conflict in me that I have to resolve. Unlike drivers who complain of their own inconvenience, these businesses are the dreams and livelihoods of many people. And I want to be on record in support wholeheartedly of a compensation program for people who experience untoward hardship. We can be creative about that. However. When I think about the number of changes I’ve witnessed over the course of my life, of businesses moving, changing hands, closing shop, all within a context of waves of city development, private interest, the boomand-bust of economic cycles, I am reminded that nothing stays the same. The only constant is change. Adapt or die; it affects us all.

For another project I’m working on, I’ve been looking at pictures from Hamilton’s past, trying to see the old within the new. I wander around Hamilton looking for signs of our earliest years, for the buildings that formed the backbone of the town, the roads that look nothing like the ones I use daily.

I’m reading Nancy Bouchier and Ken Cruikshank’s new book, “The People and the Bay: A Social and Environmental History of Hamilton Harbour,” which I am loving, by the way, and I’m struck by how much the harbour coastline has been altered from its natural state. We have left our mark all over this space, this space that is the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishnaabeg. There’s not much evidence left of their historic settlements, nothing but roads and buildings now, maybe the odd park here and there. Change.

I hear their fear, the people along the route with businesses. The business world is a cold one; it’s “just business” when we want to remove our personal feelings from a negotiation, when we’re looking for the best deal from a friend. It’s “just business.” But when their business is affected or they’re asked to suffer change, then emotions come into play, longevity begets entitlement and, well, every person has their price. So this column is “just business.” Let’s face it, many of the businesses along the route enjoy high-visibility real estate for relatively low rental rates due to the depressed economic nature of what was once a busy retail route. It would seem that these businesses stand to gain from keeping the area in a depressed economic state. No improvements, please, we’ll have to pay more in rent. For some, that could mean going out of business. But I would ask, as it is often pointed out in the fair wage debate, if you can’t afford to pay your help, or in this case, rent, maybe your business plan is flawed, your idea not viable; at least not in this location. Businesses move all the time. Leases expire. Rents go up. Properties get sold. Life goes on.

Infrastructure improvements are desperately needed along King Street. Disruption is going to happen, anyway, in addressing even the most basic infrastructure improvements. Is the city supposed to let businesses and residents dictate the timing and purpose of infrastructure improvements? And is that not a big enough carrot to dangle for city-wide support? “Free” infrastructure improvements? This is where the No side loses me completely. Disruption is going to happen anyway. And you want to pay for it, too? What?

In terms of people whose property is under expropriation, the increase in property values due to the influx of people into Hamilton, who need transit and want it, is benefiting them financially while at the same time they oppose this major improvement to our transit system. My advice is to cash out and invest in something else. Before the bubble bursts, take your money and run. You can’t stop change, you can only increase its cost. And how much more is this going to cost the longer we delay decisions?

Looks like another long day for council tomorrow as they vote, yet again, on this issue. If you’re going, pack food, and bring your knitting.