A barber in Ottawa’s west end says another long road closure tied to LRT Stage 2 construction could push already struggling businesses even closer to the edge. For nearly two years, Alaa Kiki has watched the businesses around him disappear. “Two, three stores, people, they shut down,” said Kiki, owner of KIKI Barbershop. “It’s real, guys. It’s not a joke.” Construction along a stretch of Richmond Road has been underway since 2024 as part of Ottawa’s Stage 2 LRT expansion. Last fall, the busy intersection at Richmond Road and Woodroffe Avenue was closed for months. Now, another major road shutdown is coming. Starting at the end of the month, Woodroffe Avenue, between Richmond Road and Deschênes Street, will close until the fall, cutting off one of the entrances to a nearby plaza. For Kiki, that means more uncertainty at a time when he says his business is already under intense strain. “I feel stress, always [have a] headache,” he said. “There is always something from construction, from the city, from the landlord. It’s too much for us.” Kiki says the repeated closures and shifting detours have made it harder for customers to reach his shop. He worries the latest disruption will make an already difficult situation even worse. “If they close this way and that way, where will the client come? From the sky?” he said. “I’m the owner here and everyday I come here and if I come from that side, it’s confusing for me. Imagine for new people.” Pedestrians in the area say the constant construction has also made it more difficult to get around. “It’s very difficult navigating because the sidewalks are awful, lots of potholes in the roads,” said one man walking nearby. Kiki says that kind of difficulty is costing him customers. He says sales have dropped so much that he recently took out a $50,000 loan just to stay afloat. He is also working long hours to keep the business going. “We need solutions. We need tax breaks. We need some support,” he said. Ottawa Bay Ward Coun. Theresa Kavanagh says the latest closure was unexpected. She says after the intersection reopened in December, residents were under the impression that any future closures would be short and intermittent. Kavanagh says the new shutdown will not only affect local businesses, but also commuters trying to get through the area. “It’s not good news,” Kavanagh said. “I think we still have to continue to push on this. I think the best thing is to get this done as quickly as possible.” For Kiki, the toll is deeply personal. He says he came to Canada with a dream of owning his own business. Now, he says, that dream has turned into a nightmare. “I’m working seven days a week, 13 hours every day,” he said. “It’s a bad life. My son lost his future. I have stress at home. I cannot continue like this because I am human.” Kavanagh says there is no exact completion date for the work.
