Even if the business owners are suffering because of the pilot, as a whole it obviously benefits the city much more to keep the street as a transit priority corridor. But just because more people are riding the streetcar, does that mean more people are using the street? In other words say I have a retail store at Yonge and Glencairn. Thousands of people are "using the street" via the subway but they are just whizzing by it underground. I wonder if it can be argued all these streetcar riders are whizzing by the businesses on their way from work to home in Liberty Village for example. The only difference, albeit it is significant, being that streetcars use the street and they stop more frequently. I'm by no means an expert on this but this is a dramatic change for the street and I imagine it takes a long time for users of the street to adapt. It may that tourist trap restaurants don't make sense anymore there but some other type of business does.
Most of the streetcar streets are vibrant, but this is the first one that for all intents and purposes is car-free.
This pilot was a long time coming and I hope the city doesn't cave to a handful of restaurant owners and allow cars at night and weekends.
