00:02For Mark Cook's menswear business, it's been a difficult year and a half.
00:06It's the most disruptive we've seen it in the time we've been here, there's no question about that.
00:11Work to extend Canberra's light rail to Commonwealth Park has seen the city centre turn into a construction zone.
00:17Now, after being closed since early last year, London Circuit East is set to partially reopen to traffic,
00:23and 57 parking spots will be coming back online.
00:26It's a positive step for businesses, but won't solve every problem.
00:31We're still going to face the same issues until everything reopens.
00:34In nearby Bailey's Arcade, foot traffic has been almost wiped out.
00:39We can have a staff member in there for a whole week, and they'll have two customers the whole week.
00:43The planning minister acknowledges it's been disruptive, but insists it will all be worth it.
00:49The government is building light rail infrastructure through the city in order to provide better access
00:56for Canberrans to the businesses in the future.
00:59The opposition says there's nothing to celebrate.
01:03Canberra businesses have been treated with contempt, they've been treated with disdain,
01:07and they know, they know that this is a government that turned its back on them.
01:12As progress is made on the eastern side of London Circuit, on the west, road closures will remain in place
01:19for some time.
01:20I'm certainly hoping that we won't see more business closures over the next year or so,
01:25but there is a real risk of that, and that's why it's really important that we get things moving as
01:30quickly as humanly possible.
01:31Light at the end of the tunnel, but still a long way to go,
01:35with passenger services on light rail stage 2A not beginning until 2028.
01:40ani
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