Governments that force changes in transportation efficiency and safety often fail to understand that they ought to help those whose existence is threatened by those changes. While official plans glorify the benefits of the changes they rarely discuss what elements of society will be destroyed. In the medium-sized City of London, Ontario, Canada the results of government interventions, or lack there of, have led to the destruction of many small and independent businesses along its main street, Dundas Street. Along with other political decisions that also targeted persons of low income this has led to areas of depressed economic activity that has not been seen before.

Background

Looking back, the main street of London, Ontario, Dundas Street, was a vibrant area of economic activity for well over 100 years. Dundas Street in downtown London was where you wanted to be. An example of this is the historic photo of the area below, from the year 1956.

This is a view of the main street in London, Dundas Street, looking west from Wellington Road in 1956 (Original photographer unknown). Although it exhibits potential safety and efficiency problems it also shows a vibrancy supported by many successful, independent businesses. Pedestrians filled the sidewalks and many drove their cars to the area to shop. That is a far cry from what is happening on Dundas Street today.

Dundas Street in downtown London was beginning to falter even as early as the 1980s. It was then that politicians agreed to have a new mall built to help boost the area. Galleria Mall saw its opening day in 1989. It is shown on the left of the photo below, taken in 2013. While there were great expectations that Galleria Mall would revive downtown Dundas, the opposite occurred. The exterior or the mall appeared to be closed to its surroundings as there were no street-side windows and there was no connection with existing, local merchants.

This view shows Dundas Street in downtown London, looking west from Wellington Road on December 23, 2013. This is the same view as the previous photo of 1956. At this time the Galleria Mall had been in existence or 24 years. Although showing signs of economic stress Dundas was still filled with motor vehicle traffic and many local businesses were still in existence.

Political decisions caused changes to London as well as to the Province of Ontario leading to a progressive attack on cities such as London and specifically Dundas Street. The Tory provincial government of Mike Harris was brought into power in 1995. Its legacy is encapsulated by a single sentence written in a 2023 article by John Ibbitson:

“The government closed and amalgamated dozens of hospitals, cut welfare benefits by more than 20 per cent and slashed the number of school boards by almost half.”

The Harris government also introduced the Municipal Act which off-loaded many costs, such as roadway responsibilities, to local governments. Also, the monitoring of roadway safety issues, that used to be conducted in uniform manner by the province, province-wide, was now left to local municipalities. This led to the creation of non-uniform roadway control, planning and implementation.

The “common sense” of closing many mental hospitals meant that those persons with cognitive challenges were sent onto the street, essentially to fend for themselves. This had disastrous effects on communities and Dundas Street in particular. Dundas Street in East London had already been feeling the effects of previous political disasters in the late 1960s and 1970s such as the rebuilding of Dundas Street into a a river-like, curving road that took away parking and thus took away customers from East London businesses. The city mayor at the time owned a construction company that was hired to install expensive brickwork along Dundas between Elizabeth Street and Adelaide Street. This brickwork started to fall apart and was expensive to repair. That whole area of Dundas Street was reconstructed again to its original, straight form, with some parking, but the damage had already been done to local, independent businesses. The main businesses such as Hudsons, London Furniture, Metropolitan and the Brass Rail Tavern all began to leave the area with nothing to replace them. Those displaced persons from mental hospitals and those who had their social benefits removed by the Harris government began to enter onto the sidewalks of Dundas east. But Dundas in the downtown area was still saved from that prospect for several more decades.

For decades the most commercial “place to be” had always been the intersection of Dundas Street and Richmond Street. This is where the very successful Ingram & Smallman department store expanded to the very successful Simpsons department store. Bus Simpsons began to falter and was bought out by The Bay. This change lasted successfully for a few more years before The Bay moved out of the Dundas-Richmond intersection and the depression of the area began to intensify.

This historical photo (original photographer unknown) was reportedly taken in 1950 and shows a view of the Simpsons Department Store, looking south-east toward Richmond Street. This view show the numerous shoppers that frequented the area long into the 1970s.

Historical photos of downtown Dundas Street show that there was many beautiful buildings that existed here but these were torn down. Without such buildings it made it more difficult to attract customers to the area when there was nothing beautiful to see. An example of some beautiful architecture is shown in the historical photo below, taken on Dundas Street from just west of the Simpsons store, reportedly in 1951.

This photo, reportedly taken in 1951 (original photographer unknown), shows the beautiful architecture of a building on Dundas Street just west of the Simpsons Department Store. This building was demolished.

As mentioned earlier the political disaster of the Galleria Mall began to take its effect on downtown Dundas Street. Essentially no business could survive inside the mall and they soon departed leaving an empty shell. The mall was re-named the Citi Plaza but the name change made no difference. From every direction the exterior walls of the mall contained no windows and no connection with the local businesses located next to it.

Signs of economic problems on Dundas Street were not easily recognized. The development of the John Labatt Centre (JLC) was a great success to downtown London. This arena holding approximately 10,000 persons saw many new musical and sports events. With the re-development of the Covent Garden Market next to it there was a sense that downtown was headed toward some good times. But the backside (north side) of the JLC faced Dundas Street and, just like the Galleria Mall, its walls contained no windows and no connection to the outside street. Also, with the building of the formidable London Court House, and the Bell building, the trio of these buildings made it unpleasant to walk in the area of Dundas Street between Ridout and Talbot, as shown in the 2017 photo below.

This photo was taken on August 21, 2017, looking east along Dundas Street from Ridout Street. The Dundas and Richmond intersection is located two blocks to the east in the distant background. In the foreground are the unfriendly walls of the London Court House, the Bell building and the backside of the John Labatt Center (Budweiser Gardens). These developments made this part of Dundas an inhospitable place, as shown in the lack of traffic and pedestrians, and narrowed the area of successful businesses further to the east.

The rise of Big Box businesses such as Costco, and on-line shopping establishments such as Amazon, placed further pressure on the small businesses lining the downtown of Dundas Street, and these businesses continued to falter.

Meanwhile to the east, the Dundas Street community in East London had been in complete shambles for many years. The successful business area of Dundas Street near English Street became destroyed as the complete block of buildings on the north side of Dundas were leveled, as shown in the 2013 photo below.

This photo, taken on April 30, 2013, shows how the full length of the businesses along the north side of Dundas Street were torn down, west of English Street. Attempts were being made to revitalize the area by the building of several high-rise rental buildings on King Street just to the south (left) of this view. But these activities seemed to be of little help to Dundas east.

With the hot real estate markets of nearby cities like Toronto, home rental costs went up and the building of affordable housing was low. This sent more persons onto Dundas Street East with no where to go. Normal businesses could not survive and new ones such as cash lending and pawn shops emerged.

This view shows the north side of Dundas Street just west of Adelaide and directly across from the London Police headquarters. The windows of a former independent restaurant are shown taped over and a cash lending business moved in next door. These were the signs that the area of east London along Dundas Street was in severe decline.

Intensified Road Reconstruction in Downtown London Commencing in 2018

In the midst of the economical woes politicians continued to make roadway “improvements” which shut down parts of Dundas Street. A decision was made to close Dundas east of Egerton for roadway improvements. But this area was shut down and dug up again only a few years later to make room for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.

A political decision was made to close Dundas Street east of Egerton Street for roadway construction as shown in this August 21, 2017 photo looking east along Dundas Street from Egerton Street. A few years later the reconstruction was closed again for the development of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. This forced customers away from east London and away from Dundas Street for many years.

Meanwhile, as time passed, politicians came to the realization that the world’s climate was changing and drastic measures were needed to stop our burning of fossil fuels. This led to the recognition that transportation systems needed to be changed. Transportation needed to involve multi-passenger buses that used electric power rather than gasoline or diesel. And it became essential to cause more transportation via bicycling or by walking. In London this became the impetus for a rapid increase in the number of cycling lanes throughout the City. It also became the impetus for creating a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system through select, high-volume roads.

For Dundas Street in London these political decisions led to many years of traffic chaos which began in 2018 with the decision to create “Dundas Place” between Ridout and Wellington Rd. But this was also an area where many small businesses were attempting to survive harsh economic times.

This view was taken on May 15, 2018, looking east on Dundas Street from Ridout Street. At a time when independent businesses along downtown Dundas Street were struggling to survive, politicians decided to shut down Dundas Street and recreate a “pedestrian mall” which they named Dundas Place.

Dundas Street became closed to all traffic from the spring of 2018 to the fall of 2019 for the creation of Dundas Place. As shown in the photos below, this was a dramatic stoppage of economic activity that greatly affected local, independent businesses.

This photo was taken on August 9, 2019, showing the extent of the construction area of Dundas Street that was to create “Dundas Place”.
This photo was taken on August 9, 2019, looking east on Dundas Street from Clarence Street. This view shows the difficulty that businesses had of attempting to stay open.
This photo was taken on August 9, 2019, looking west on Dundas Street from Clarence Street. This view shows the difficulty that businesses had of attempting to stay open.
This photo was taken on August 9, 2019, looking west on Dundas Street toward Richmond Street. This view shows the difficulty that businesses had of attempting to stay open.

As if the hardships of Dundas Place were not enough, a pandemic struck the world in late 2019 with the introduction of Covid 19. Persons could not interact in public and were required to wear masks. This created severe hardships for businesses throughout Canada but those hardships were increased along downtown Dundas Street where essentially no shopping was possible.

In the spring of 2020 the completion of Dundas Place could be examined and the logic of the costs to create it could be assessed. It was noted that a complicated brickwork of a winding “river” in the road surface was developed as if this would be the saving characteristic of the revitalization. This was reminiscent of the meandering “river” that was created on Dundas Street in East London in the late 1960s and 1970s which was instrumental in accelerating the depression of that neighbourhood.

This photo was taken on April 17, 2020, after the completion of the Dundas Place reconstruction between Richmond Street and Wellington Road. A complex brickwork in the road surface gave the appearance of a meandering river. But the surface of the brick was rough to drive on and cyclists also experienced a difficulty riding on the surface. Despite the “improvements” there was a notable lack of pedestrian traffic in the area.

Even though Covid-19 and the traffic problems of Dundas Place were creating havoc in downtown London, politicians embarked on other transportation “improvements” which worsened these problems. As an example, Richmond Street was closed from York to King Street for restoration, as shown in the photo below.

This photo was taken on August 16, 2020, looking toward Richmond Street at its intersection with York Street. Despite the traffic chaos that existed in downtown London in 2018 and 2019, city politicians felt no reason to pause road work that continued that chaos.

A seemingly yearly shut down of King Street for various road construction also continued through 2020, as shown in the photo below.

This photo was taken on July 12, 2020 showing an eastward view along King Street from Richmond Street. During this period, both King Street and Richmond Street were closed to traffic, making it difficult for visitors to downtown London to move through the area.

Meanwhile city politicians also allowed for lane restrictions on Dundas east of Dundas Place. The area of Dundas east of Wellington Road was restricted to traffic as a new cycling track was being constructed eastward from downtown, as shown below.

This photo was taken on November 12, 2020. This is a view of Dundas Street looking east from Wellington Road. The completion of the Dundas Place construction was located just behind the camera. This view shows how Dundas traffic was restricted once again due to the construction of a cycling track progressing eastward from the downtown area toward East London.

By the spring of 2021 city politicians once again decided to make road “improvements” at the west end of Dundas Street by commencing construction at Dundas and Ridout, as shown in the photo below.

This photo was taken on March 16, 2021. This view looks east from Dundas Street approaching the intersection with Ridout Street. City politicians already blocked motor vehicle access to Dundas Place at intermittent times however this construction permanently closed entrance to Dundas Place for the temporary time of the construction.
This photo was taken on March 16, 2021. This is another view of Dundas at the road construction at Ridout. Traffic was diverted to the right onto Ridout Street so no traffic could proceed onto Dundas Place. This further restricted visitors to enter the Dundas Place area.

City politicians also experimented with closing Dundas Place to traffic at the Talbot, Richmond, and Clarence intersections. The results shown in the next photos are that Dundas Place looked more like a ghost town rather than the vibrant place it had been for decades.

This is a photo taken on August 14, 2021 showing the Dundas place closure at the Ridout Street intersection. Note the lack of any motor vehicle, cyclist or pedestrian traffic in this virtual ghost town.
This photo was taken on August 14, 2021, looking eastward from the closure of Dundas Place at the intersection at Talbot Street. While a few pedestrians exist the area looks more like a ghost town. Businesses had a difficulty to survive in this climate.
This photo was taken on August 14, 2021. This is a view of Dundas Place looking east from the intersection at Clarence Street. While some pedestrians and cyclists exist the businesses here needed much more customer traffic.

In the fall of 2021 photos showed that King Street was closed once again as work was being done on Richmond Street and the latest construction of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) was being completed between Ridout and Wellington Road. Photos from that time are show below.

This photo was taken on October 31, 2021. This is an eastward view along King Street looking toward the intersection of Richmond Street. King Street was closed as the latest segment of the Bus Rapid Transit system was being constructed.
This photo was taken on October 31, 2021 showing the signage posted at the closure of king Street at Richmond Street.
This photo was taken on October 31, 2021 showing the signage at the King Street closure at Richmond Street.

As shown in the photo below King Street still remained closed to traffic on December 1, 2021.

This photo taken on December 1, 2021 shows that King Street was still closed at Richmond Street.

In the spring of 2022 several road closures and restrictions were noted. Queens Ave began be restricted to traffic west of Richmond Street. This also prevented traffic on Queens Ave from entering onto Ridout Street.

This photo was taken on May 29, 2022. It is a view looking west along Queens Ave as it approaching Ridout Street. Construction was begun here reportedly in continuation of the Bus Rapid Transit downtown loop.

Queens Ave then began to be completely closed to traffic at Richmond Street as noted in photo below taken on June 17, 2022.

This photo was taken on June 17, 2022 showing the complete closure of Queens Ave west of Richmond Street.

Wellington Road also became restricted from continued construction on King Street, as shown in the photo below.

This photo of Wellington Road taken on April 29, 2022 shows how it was restricted due to construction at the intersection with King Street.

Southbound traffic on Talbot Street was also restricted in the spring of 2022 between Dufferin and Queens Ave as the new Centro high-rise building continued to be constructed.

View of southbound lane retrictions on Talbot Street as the new Centro, high-rise building was being constructed. This photo was taken on April 29, 2022.

Photos also show that Ridout Street became closed south of Horton Street as the new Victoria Bridge began to be constructed. A photo that is shown below.

This photo of Ridout Street was taken on June 29, 2022 showing its closure as a result of the construction of the new Victoria Bridge.

The beginning of the year 2023 continued to show that roadway construction was continuing to cause chaos on Dundas Street and downtown London. The construction along King Street was still not completed and this caused lane restrictions on Wellington Road between King and Dundas, as shown in the photos below.

This photo, taken on January 16, 2023 show a view of Wellington Road looking north toward King Street. The northbound lanes of Wellington are restricted through to Dundas Street.
This photo taken on January 16, 2023 shows the continued traffic chaos caused by road “improvements” on Wellington Road at King Street.

Photos taken on March 24, 2023 show that Ridout Street became closed as work was under way on building the new Victoria Bridge south of Horton Street.

This March 24, 2023 photo shows that Ridout Street became closed as a result of construction of the new Victoria Bridge south of Horton Street.

Also reconstruction was taking place along Wellington Road at the south end of downtown resulting in further chaos at intersections such as Horton Street, as shown in the March 30, 2023 photo below.

This photo was taken on March 30, 2023. It is a view looking east along Horton Street toward Wellington Road. Due to the construction on Wellington traffic was diverted into a single lane causing further difficulties.

Lane closures along Horton Street meant that there were long lines of waiting traffic as shown in the photo below from April 3, 2023.

This photo from April 3, 2023 shows part of the long line of stopped westbound traffic on approach to Wellington Road used by the lane restrictions.

The chaos on Horton Street could be appreciated when looking along Wellington Road on its approach to Horton. Wellington Road was being reconstructed on its approach to downtown London as shown in the photos below taken in the spring of 2023.

This photo taken on April 24, 2023 shows the reconstruction of Wellington Road on its approach to downtown London. This northward view shows Horton Street in the distant background.
This northward view of Wellington Road shows its approach to Horton Street and onto downtown London in the background. Restrictions like these throughout the City of London made it difficult for drivers to visit the downtown of the city.
This photo from July 25, 2023 shows that a rough coat of asphalt was being applied at the intersection of Wellington Road and Horton. But traffic restrictions were to continue for many further months as Wellington Road was being prepared for the Bus Rapid Transit system.

In downtown London itself traffic chaos was still occurring on Wellington Road between King Street and York Street as shown in the photo below, looking south along Wellington, taken on September 26, 2023.

This southward view along Wellington Road is looking toward York Street on September 26, 2023. Lane restrictions on Wellington Road continued to pose problems to drivers entering and exiting downtown London.

The start of the year in 2024 showed that the traffic chaos along Wellington Road intensified. Major reconstruction was now taking place further north, past Dundas Street and toward Queens Ave through the spring of 2024, as shown in the photos below.

This photo was taken on January 11, 2024. It shows a view looking north along Wellington Road approaching Dundas Street. Evidence of major road construction was evident.
This northward view along Wellington Road on January 11, 2024 shows that northbound traffic on Wellington was prohibited from turning left onto Queens Ave. Traffic was diverted further to the north onto Dufferin Ave.
This photo from March 11, 2024 shows that Wellington Road was still under major construction. Curbs were beginning to be laid no asphalt existed on approach to Queens Ave.

At Ridout Street the Victoria Bridge construction was taking shape and some sidewalk access was created along the new bridge as shown in the photo below.

This photo from April 10, 2024 shows that the Ridout Street was still closed at the newly constructed Victoria Bridge but sidewalk access onto the bridge became available along the east side of the bridge.

A new element of traffic chaos commenced in the spring of 2024 when the City of London decided to perform major road reconstruction of York Street which closed the road west of Wellington Road. This was at a time when major construction was also taking place along Wellington Road.

This photo taken on June 12, 2024 shows that York Street became fully closed west of Wellington causing further disruption to traffic that was dealing with the road restrictions on Wellington Road.
This photo taken on June 27, 2024 shows that northbound traffic on Wellington Road was still restricted at Queens Ave.

By July, 2024 the newly constructed Victoria Bridge was being prepared for opening, as shown in the photo below.

This photo taken on July 5, 2024 shows the preparations being made for the official opening of the new Victoria Bridge on Ridout Street south of Horton Street.

By August 1, 2024 traffic on York Street was still severely limited as shown in the photo below.

This photo was taken on August 1, 2024 showing an eastward view along York Street toward the intersection at Clarence St. Traffic flow remained greatly restricted through to Wellington Road.

Photos taken on September 18, 2024 showed that York Street became fully closed at Clarence Street. Signs of that closure could be seen from the intersection of York and Richmond as shown in the photo below.

This photo was taken on September 18, 2024. This eastward view of York Street shows that a lane restriction was still present at Richmond due to construction of a building at that location. However the extreme right of this view there is a sign posted that York Street in closed and this signage is repeated further in the background at Clarence Street.

By September 30, 2024 photos taken in downtown London showed that Wellington Road still remained restricted from Horton Street through to Dufferin Street, as shown in the photos below.

This photo was taken on September 30, 2024. It is a northward view along Wellington Rd approaching Queens Ave. The lanes of Wellington Road continued to be restricted in this area.
This photo was taken on September 30, 2024. It is a view looking northward on Wellington Road at Queens Ave and looking toward Dufferin Ave in the background. Extensive work was still being done here.

Throughout these detailed descriptions of road construction in downtown London between 2018 and 2024 there was a demonstration that, although improvements were being made, the improvements also negatively affected the area and particularly Dundas Street. While construction of Dundas Place was completed by 2019, many additional road construction projects commenced which either blocked access to Dundas Street or political decisions were made to close access to it. The combination of these political decisions, along with a lack of recognition that homeless street people were increasingly assembling along downtown Dundas led to extreme difficulties for normal, independent businesses to stay open. Upon completion of this article in October, 2024, these problems continued to exist. While the City of London was becoming larger in population its politicians seemed to conclude that development of large, high-rise buildings would be the mark of a successful city while not seeing the reality that many small businesses were closing and for too many persons on the sidewalks of downtown London were not customers or tourists but the streets became their home, as the cost of housing made it unreachable and they had no where else to go.

Comparison To Other Successful Downtowns

A trip to Great Britain in August and September of 2024 demonstrated how pedestrian malls can be successfully integrated into downtown areas. Britain has a northern climate similar to that of southern Ontario so many of the cold conditions of winter affect both locations. Here are some examples of some successful pedestrian malls in Britain.

The photo below shows Buchanan Street in Glasgow in late August, 2024. It is completely free of motor vehicle traffic yet there are numerous persons walking through the area and many successful, independent shops sell their merchandise to those customers.

This view shows Buchanan Street in Glasgow Scotland at its intersection with Arygle Street. While there are many pedestrians using the entire width of the road it is even busier during holiday periods when one can barely pass by due to the large volume of pedestrians.

Another example of a very successful pedestrian mall is the Royal Mile area in downtown Edenborough Scotland. As shown in the photo below very large numbers of pedestrians walk along this road which is closed to motor vehicle traffic.

This view of the Royal Mile in Edenborough Scotland in late August, 2024, shows that creative planning, including interesting and historic sites can bring many tourists and prosperity to the region as a whole.
This view in Liverpool shows that certain celebrity connections can be helpful to entice tourists into a downtown pedestrian mall. Here the fab four (Beatles) appear to walk along with the crowd.
Even small and intimate pedestrian areas can bring in tourists such as this area in front of the Cavern in Liverpool where the Beatles first played before becoming worldly famous.

A particularly relevant comparison to London’s downtown can be made with Bath England. Bath is a city which is about half the population of London and is located in the county of Summerset, west of London England. While the downtown of London Ontario is struggling the politicians of Bath turned its downtown into a spiderweb of successful pedestrian malls. Much of that success came from Bath officials recognizing that they had interesting and unique, historical buildings that needed preservation. One of the best-known locations in Bath are the roman baths which still stand two thousand years after they were first created.

This photo of the roman baths taken on September 1, 2024, demonstrates the importance of preserving areas of historical significance and then building around them to create an inviting downtown.
This photo was taken from just outside of the roman baths in downtown Bath, England. This is one of a series of pedestrian malls that take visitors throughout the downtown.

Extending from the area of the roman baths are a series of pedestrian malls, another example is shown below.

This photo was taken in early September, 2024 at the intersection of two pedestrian malls in downtown Bath, England. A clean and organized appearance, along with many historical buildings and independent shops makes for an attraction to tourists and an overall economically successful area.

An important element of a successful pedestrian mall is to include unique and independent shops that may sell items of specific relevance to the region. The photo below is an example of merchandise being sold in such an independent shop.

While merchandise such as what is shown in this photo may appear touristy it is also connected to the region where it is located and provides something of interest that may not exist in large, multi-national store chains.

The success of the downtown of London, Ontario must be compared to these other areas where business is thriving. While London’s downtown is expanding in the height and size of its buildings, it is not difficult to detect the decay at its street level. The true measure of success is how the most vulnerable in a community are taken care of, not how the most rich can express their narcistic desires.

In this example shown on a downtown Bath pedestrian mall persons have left food made available for free to anyone who would want it. It demonstrates a caring for persons who may be struggling in the community. It is a small symbol of the actions needed to focus on the livelihood of the least fortunate if that community, as a whole, is ever to be considered successful.

In London Ontario we spend much of our time and resources controlling the vulnerable persons we have created and then refuse to make a commitment to make a lasting change.

This man sitting inside the dark “tunnel” of the Citi Plaza mall on King Street, in London Ontario takes up the time of three security guards as they contemplate what to do with him. These bandages will never heal the many examples of neglect on the streets of downtown London. A focus on looking after the vulnerable, including its vulnerable independent businesses, will ensure that London will truly be recognized as a successful city.

While this article has expressed some doom and gloom there is also hope and optimism. Much like a brown and dried up lawn on a late summer’s day, the apparent death of a downtown is not forever. A few days of rain, some re-seeding, and careful application of fertilizer can bring back a seemingly dead lawn and the same can occur in downtown London. Despite the folly of many, cities are resilient. In the country my birth, Poland, that resiliency was most evident when 85 per cent of Poland’s capital city was leveled in the 1940s by Nazi aggressors. Warsaw’s historical castle, its main square and the famous King Zygmunt’s monument (my namesake) were completely levelled. But that did not stop the Polish citizens. They gathered photos and drawings of all these destroyed places and reconstructed everything to the point where it is difficult to detect that any of these reconstructions ever took place. This was possible through the resilience, dedication and pride of its citizens. By no means has London Ontario been destroyed to the extent that it cannot be revitalized. It just takes some level-headed thought and wisdom to understand what needs to be done and how to do it.