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The changes will include wider sidewalks that conform to accessibility standards, flexible parking spaces that can also be used for streetside restaurant patios, public art, bicycle racks and streetscape elements such as tree planting and seating areas.

Photo by Julie Oliver / Postmedia

Photo by DENNIS LEUNG / POSTMEDIA

Sewers and watermains — some of which are more than 100 years old — will undergo reconstruction. The street’s overhead utility lines will be buried underground, a contested decision that Elgin business owner Minoo Banaei said changed her outlook on the whole project.

“That was my No. 1,” Banaei said, adding that she attended every public meeting on the Elgin Street renewal, and fought to have the hydro lines buried. The cost of doing so was raised as a counter-argument but in the end the city decided it was worth the multimillion-dollar price tag, in this particular case.

“Now I’m just quiet and patient … before I was angry,” she said of the year of construction that will close the section of Elgin on which her business, Bel Fiore Flowers, is located.

“It is a job that has to be done, hopefully they do it on time, that’s all I can say.”

On the streets, pavement and road structure will be upgraded and traffic calming measures such as a reduced speed limit and narrowing lanes will be implemented.

Waverley Street between Elgin and Metcalfe Streets, and Isabella Street between Elgin Street and Queen Elizabeth Driveway will also see some upgrades.

“We’re very happy about it. We’re looking forward to nice pedestrian areas,” said neighbourhood resident Hugh Finsten. “We live around the corner, so we’re less concerned about parking and things like that.”