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ECONOMIST & SUN M A R K H A M

Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012

$1 / 16 PAGES

FEATURE

GO riders dash to beat chaos in parking lot ‘Zombies at rush hour’ sprint in daily ritual

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STORES SAY ROADWORK TAKING TOLL At least one merchant has put out ‘SOS’ sign as Main Street Markham reconstruction enters third month BY AMANDA PERSICO

apersico@yrmg.com

Save our stores. That’s the sentiment shared by local merchants on Main Street Markham as the roadway enters a third month of construction.

But with limited access to the street and sidewalks fenced up in front of shops, businesses are hurting. Usually the September to November months are holiday shopping time and along with the

summer one of the busiest times for merchants. Now with the construction, many businesses are wondering if they can hold on that long. “All the summer walk-ins carry us for most of the year,” said Deb

Dixon, who owns The Nails Boutique. “Look outside, there is no one on the street.” Ms Dixon has four rooms in her salon, one of which sits empty without a tenant. That leaves the See MERCHANTS, page 5.

SLAP SHOT, THE SEQUEL?

BY SIMON MARTIN

smartin@yrmg.com

On a sunny summer afternoon the platform at the Unionville GO train station is a tranquil place. Leandra Patera is sitting crosslegged on the bench with her iPod blasting. The scenery isn’t much as she stares off into a chain-link fence and train tracks but it’s 5:21 p.m. Ms Patera only has three more minutes to wait for the spectacle that provides her with daily entertainment: the Unionville Sprinters. The 5:24 p.m. heat is always one of the most hotly contested. GO train passengers, dressed straight out of a Brooks Brothers catalogue, crash onto the shores of the platform in waves and flood the parking lot as 15 sprinters desperately make their way to their cars trying to claim the gold medal for fastest exit.

20-MINUTE WAIT All in the name of avoiding a 20-minute traffic jam. “I love it. I’m a philosophy major. They’re always pushing each other; they’re tired and overdone,” she said. “It’s like zombies walk off at rush hour.” Joel Pipher makes sure to stand far back from the doors. The Uxbridge resident hops on the train at Unionville but has learned his lesson. “If you stand close to the doors See READY, page 3.

STAFF PHOTO/SJOERD WITTEVEEN

Organizer Kevin Huhn (centre) of Markham keeps the peace, but barely, between six York Region mayors who have signed up to play in Road Hockey To Conquer Cancer, an all-day event Sept. 29 at Ontario Place. From left are Whitchurch-Stouffville’s Wayne Emmerson, Aurora’s Geoffrey Dawe, East Gwillimbury’s Virginia Hackson, Mr. Huhn, King’s Steve Pellegrini, Markham’s Frank Scarpitti, and Georgina’s Robert Grossi. For more on the tournament, which benefits Princess Margaret Hospital and the Canadian Cancer Society, go to teamuptoconquercancer.ca

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