Residents of Thunder Bay are learning that Thunder Bay, Ont., businesses are encouraging continued public support as construction for theCumberland Street Renewal Projectlimits access and nearby parking.

“There has been a very decreased number in foot traffic, so there’s not a lot of people out exploring as usual,” remarked Misty Bernst, a co-owner of Vinyl Frontier Canada, who expressed concern for businesses in the block. “Right now, it seems like they’re going where they have to go instead of just wandering around.” While it is the store’s first summer open with extended hours — four days a week instead of two — Bernst advised the store’s business has slowed slightly during the construction. While Café Ora still sees regular customers daily, owner Jerry Decicco agreed that walk-through traffic was “pretty much gone” and it has been extremely hard for the café.

“We’re down quite a bit in the mornings, even a little after 2 [to] 2:30 when it gets a little more dustier in the afternoons — it’s harder for people to walk through,” Decicco remarked. However, parking was the “toughest” aspect of the construction, according to Decicco, who noted that locals do not like to park too far from the places they want to go into. “It’s hard to get here and the problem is that [customers] are scared that they’re going to get a ticket if they’re two hours away,” Decicco shared. However, despite modifying some of its opening hours, the Red Lion Smokehouse has only seen a slight disruption to business.

“Red River Roadunderwent a similar thing a couple of years ago and if you look at the finished result now, the streetscape is beautiful.

“We knew this was coming. So it actually hasn’t been as bad as we anticipated, to be honest,” indicated John Murray, the restaurant’s head chef and owner. People have been braving their way out, Murray advised, noting it was “amazing” to see how many people still want to be out and about. “It’s really key, I think, for people of Thunder Bay to come and support our downtown… The heartbeat of any regional thriving the area is a healthy, happy and vibrant downtown," Murray noted. The restaurant, along with the café, confirmed they felt positive about how the downtown would look at the end of the undertaking. “Red River Roadunderwent a similar thing a couple of years ago and if you look at the finished result now, the streetscape is beautiful. It’s immaculate. And really we’re excited for what the future of Cumberland will look like,” Murray noted. The Lakehead of the city anticipates all underground infrastructure, service work, street lighting, decorative concrete and potentially tree planting on the three blocks of Cumberland Street North from Pearl Street to Van Norman Street will wrap up by the end of October. In the meantime, Brian Newman, the city’s senior undertaking engineer, encourages the public to keep coming down to the area as construction will end soon and they won’t have to worry about it for another 40 to 50 years. “Our goal from the start of any downtown effort — business district campaign — is to keep the people flowing, keep the people coming downtown and dealing with businesses and doing business with them,” Newman confirmed. “So as you can see, the crowd control fencing works great. It’s very walkable. It’s not drivable, but there’s plenty of parking within the area.” Nicky Shaw is a reporter for CBC Thunder Bay. She graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism and a minor in Environmental and Climate Humanities from Carleton University. Aligning with her passion for covering global environmental and humanitarian issues, she has worked to develop in-depth multimedia content that shares the diverse experiences of people in Northwestern Ontario. It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered onCBC Gem..

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📍 Source: CBC News Thunder Bay · By: CBC News Staff · 🗓️ August 16, 2026 · 🏠 ThunderBay.Online