Previous Issues
Ruf 'n Redi
?Sometimes a community is fortunate enough to have just the right person come along at just the right time, in just the right situation. In Uxbridge’s case, in a summer that threatened to have a disastrous impact on the town’s downtown business community, that person has been the chair of the Business Improvement Area (BIA), Brock Street merchant Bev Leslie.
In a flattering article this past weekend in the Toronto Star, our town was praised for its positive attitude in the face of the big reconstruction project on Brock, dubbed the Big Dig by Ms. Leslie and the BIA board. And in the article, Mayor Bob Shepherd was quick to single out the BIA chair for her leadership in turning a potential disaster into an upbeat experience, inventing everything from the whimsical mascot Sammy the Sewer Pipe to a family-friendly Beach Party and treasure hunt on Sand Mountain.
Similarly, in this week’s Cup of Coffee on page 6, Brock Street jeweller (and BIA board member) Scott Rutledge also praises Ms. Leslie for her ideas and positive energy, giving her a lot of credit for how well the project has gone.
From the moment the contractors showed up on the street, Ms. Leslie struck up a positive rapport, taking every opportunity to publicly praise the quality of their work and their willingness to work with the merchants to minimize the negative impact of the project, not to mention the remarkable progress they’ve made despite a very wet summer. In all probability, the contractors deserve a significant share of the credit for however well the Big Dig has progressed to this point.
This is not to say that the summer on Brock Street has been a bowl of cherries for everyone. Some merchants, particularly those without a rear entrance, have been hit hard. And not everyone has unreserved praise for the aesthetics of the sidewalks, or the narrowness of the street, or the look of the tree boxes.
Nevertheless, if anyone on the street had been told in mid-June, before the project began, that it would be weeks ahead of schedule by Labour Day, that families would be having fun at events themed around the Dig, that the chair of the BIA would be saying in a Toronto newspaper that she’ll “kind of miss the contractors when they’re gone”, they could have been forgiven for looking at you a little funny.
But that’s how it’s gone, and would that all large construction projects could go so well. Perhaps it can be used as a model for all similar projects in the future. With the right preparation and the right attitude going in, negative impacts can be minimized, in both the short term and long term. Heck, even the Region of Durham, which took heat for delays in getting the project underway, comes out looking good in its aftermath.
The BIA’s chair runs a pet shop called Ruf ‘n Redi in the heart of the Big Dig, and that name is probably an appropriate metaphor for why she succeeded in her approach. She was Ruf enough around the edges to be able to strike up an instant rapport with the project crew, to create a collaborative rather than us-vs.-them environment, and she was Redi to make lemonade out of lemons whenever and wherever possible.
The Big Dig hasn’t been all good by any means, but it’s been a whole lot better than anyone could have predicted. Including Bev Leslie. With the backing of her board, she more than made the best of things. Bravo.
