Businesses excited for long-awaited Dewdney Ave. construction

Article content

With a two-year construction project set to begin on Dewdney Avenue next week, businesses along the Warehouse District thoroughfare are excited to see the area get a long-awaited facelift.

“We’re in our 10th year of business and we moved here because this area was supposed to be developed a long, long time ago,” said Rebellion Brewing Company president Mark Heise, who was there when a funding announcement was made back in 2017.

Article content

Article content

“A lot of this has been a long-time coming and we’re looking forward to that.”

The Dewdney Avenue Corridor Revitalization Project will finally break ground on April 29, the city announced earlier this month. This year, less visible work will be done to update sewage and water mains, with cosmetic updates to the sidewalks and boulevards to be done during the 2025 construction season.

The design for Dewdney Avenue includes a 3.5-metre “activation area” on the north side of the street for patios, as well as a two-metre-wide sidewalk with a boulevard separating the walkway from the street. A three-metre-wide temporary “multi-use pathway” will run along the south side of Dewdney to provide transportation for interim uses of the Yards.

Heise is excited for the area to be more walkable and accessible by bike.

“We’re huge fans,” he said in an interview Wednesday. “We don’t need more parking. We need more people using some other forms of transportation. That’s what drives business.”

Article content

Article content

Heise highlighted a recent bike tune-up event held at the brewery, and an annual “Hop Circuit” which he said is often frequented by cyclists visiting several breweries in the Warehouse District.

Bushwakker Brewpub manager Grant Frew said he’s skeptical about the construction timeline but is looking forward to some of the design features the project will bring to life.

“There’s no gain without pay,” Frew said in an interview Wednesday. “If they do stay on schedule and get this complete in two years, it’ll be a couple of tough years, but I think … the payoff will be worth it.”

The project includes traffic lights at Cornwall Street and Hamilton Street as well as a handful of marked crosswalks for easier and safer access.

Currently, some customers who frequent Bushwakkers and other businesses along Dewdney Avenue park on the south side of the street, which Frew said has them often playing “Frogger” while trying to cross.

Business owner Tyler Polowy envisions the Warehouse District having a vibe akin to Moose Jaw’s downtown or Edmonton’s Whyte Avenue area.

“I’m hoping for more businesses to open up in this area,” said Polowy, owner of Rooted Living Designs, a retail store that sells plants and home decor. “I feel like (the Warehouse District) is definitely a diamond in the rough … but if we polish it a little bit, it will shine.”

Article content

Because access to businesses along the construction route will have reduced accessibility, Polowy says it’s more important than ever to support local. He said the City of Regina has put forward funding for radio advertisements promoting the Warehouse District during construction.

The project, which has been in the works since 2014, comes with a $32-million price tag and is part of the Railyard Renewal Project.

Restrictions along Dewdney Avenue will limit traffic to one lane in each direction along the north side of the street, starting Monday.

[email protected]

With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark LeaderPost.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.

Article content