Worried downtown London merchants can look down Highway 401 for a sense of rapid transit’s impact — and, maybe, find some relief.

As the finer points of London’s $560-million transit transformation become clear, vocal opposition has erupted, particularly from core businesses concerned over how the changes could harm their ­livelihoods.

Years of painful roadwork are just about done in Waterloo Region — it built light-rail rapid transit, construction of which is far more disruptive than London’s bus-only plans — and many early fears appear to have been unfounded.

“Was there fear and frustration? There was when construction started (in 2014),” said Patti Brooks, executive director of the 450-member Uptown Waterloo Business Improvement Area. “One hundred per cent of the kudos go to our businesses for doing what they needed to do.”

In the end, she says, “We only had two businesses that closed due to construction.”

London’s rapid transit plan, dubbed Shift, has started drawing fire in recent weeks, led by a group of downtown merchants who have formed Down Shift, ­urging city council to alter or even kill the project.

The backlash, prompted by what some call a lack of consultation, is understandable, but one Waterloo Region politician says it doesn’t mirror what he recalls from the pre-construction period there.

“The negativity from merchants are those impacted by construction. But during the planning and approval phase, I don’t recall any kind of organized opposition,” said Regional Chair Ken Seiling.

“They (businesses) are the ­biggest beneficiaries. More traffic flow, intensification in the core of people living there . . . those are all supportive of downtown ­businesses.”

Construction of Waterloo ­Region’s $818-million light-rail line started in 2014, leading to massive construction upheaval — a main Waterloo road, King Street, was closed for 10 months at one point — and the final bits of roadwork won’t be done until later this year.

The light-rail system is expected to be working by early 2018. And that’s when Waterloo expects to start reaping the long-term ­benefits, such as infill ­development along the transit line.

The routes aren’t yet finalized in London — and funding for the project hasn’t even been secured. The city is years from having a fully functioning rapid transit system.

But in Uptown Waterloo, on the other side of the disruption, Brooks has advice for London business owners.

“I would first and foremost suggest they become very well-versed on what the project is and how it will affect them, so they’re looking at this not out of fear, but out of knowledge,” she said.

“And give it a chance. Look at the end results: this is what we’ll go through, but this is what we’ll have.

“I’m not going to tell you there weren’t businesses that were absolutely opposed to it. There are still people who are very opposed to it. Change is difficult . . . but we’re going to be in a good place.”

David E. White, a downtown London merchant for decades, remains deeply concerned about Shift as it’s proposed.

“I keep hearing it’s good for downtown. It may be, but it may not be,” he said.

“There’s a lot of implications coming from every single direction and I don’t think there’s clarity on any given ­perspective.”

In response to Down Shift, a pro-rapid transit citizens group has formed, dubbed Shift Happens. Led by tech entrepreneur Shawn Adamsson, it can be found on Twitter at @shifthappensLDN.

pmaloney@postmedia.com

twitter.com/patatLFPress

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London's rapid transit plan

What:Proposed system would use high-frequency buses along two routes, with downtown as the overlapping corridor.

Routes: An L-shaped route would run between Masonville Place in the north and Fanshawe College in the east; a 7-shaped route would run between White Oaks Mall in the south and the Wonderland Road and Oxford Street area in the west.

Cost: Total $560 million. City hall’s share would be capped at $125 million; Queen’s Park and Ottawa would have to contribute a combined $435 million. Neither government has committed money.