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Saturday, June 16, 2007 | Updated at 7:13 AM EDT
 MATHEW McCARTHY, RECORD STAFF Paul Kotsopoulos (left) and Bill Papazotos, owners of The Doll House, would consider relocating if the building is torn down to make room from a roundabout. |
 TANIA PRAEG, RECORD STAFF KITCHENER |
KITCHENER (Jun 16, 2007)
Taxpayers may buy a Bridgeport strip club and tear it down, to help solve traffic jams in the area.
The Doll House adult entertainment venue, also known as the Grand Hotel, is one of only two strip clubs allowed to operate in Kitchener. It's now in the way of a roundabout proposed at Bridge and Lancaster streets.
The building has no curb appeal today but there's a lot of history beneath the stucco. The original brick building dates back to 1856.
Traffic engineers are recommending its demolition as part of a $10-million plan to solve congestion plaguing Bridgeport, in east Kitchener.
"I don't want to be (torn) down. That's my feeling. But, what are you going to do?" Doll House co-owner Paul Kotsopoulos said.
Traffic congestion is bad and needs to be solved, he said. "Absolutely something needs to be done, for the future of the city."
Heritage advocate Kerry Kirby is not yet persuaded that demolition is the best option.
"If there's heritage significance there, I'm hoping that the building possibly could be saved," said Kirby, co-chair of a Kitchener heritage advisory committee. "In a lot of cases we act too quickly in tearing things down, and then we regret them after."
He said the fate of the building needs to be discussed by the city's heritage committee.
Regional Coun. Jean Haalboom, of Kitchener, supports demolition despite the history of the Grand Hotel. She figures the building is too remodelled to be worth saving.
"Whatever the historic value, it's pretty much gone," said Haalboom, chair of a regional heritage advisory committee.
The threatened building is not a designated historic property. "It's old, no question about that," said Kotsopoulos, who is not concerned about its heritage value.
He said relocating his strip club may be an option. City council would have to amend a bylaw for this to happen. Currently, strip clubs in Kitchener are licensed at just two specific sites, including the Grand Hotel at 6 Bridge St. W. There's no provision to operate at any other site.
Council has been using this bylaw to eliminate strip clubs by attrition as they close. Mayor Carl Zehr could not say how council would respond to a relocation request, if the Doll House is displaced by road work.
"Anyone can ask the city for anything, but the bylaw at this point in time would say it ceases to exist, and that's it, period," Zehr said.
Traffic planners contend a roundabout at Bridge and Lancaster streets is the best way to move Bridgeport traffic more smoothly.
"Roundabouts increase traffic capacity significantly," said Shazhad Rahman, the regional traffic engineer in charge of the project. "We have looked at the alternative, widening the bridge, and it doesn't solve the traffic problem."
An alternate plan could save the Grand Hotel by moving the roundabout farther from the building. This plan is not preferred because it would not work as well for traffic, and would impact the nearby Laurel Creek flood plain.
Traffic congestion is so bad in Bridgeport that politicians froze development there in 1996. Traffic regularly back up longer than two minutes in queues exceeding 370 metres.
Planners have ruled out adding more lanes, adjusting traffic lights or widening the narrow bridge. These options have been exhausted or would not solve problems, Rahman said.
Haalboom, who helped draft the roundabout proposal, is pleased the plan proposes saving the Bridgeport bridge. It was built in 1934 with a classic bowstring arch.
"It's the landmark that has been there for ages," she said.
Pending approval by Waterloo regional council, roundabout construction could begin next summer and last through 2009.
It's proposed the development cap in place since 1996 would be partly lifted after a roundabout opens. Elimination of the cap might happen later, after traffic patterns are reviewed.
THE TRAFFIC PLAN
The public is invited to review the latest traffic plan on Thursday June 21, 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Bridgeport Public School, 59 Bridge St. W. It calls for:
Rehabilitating the Bridgeport bridge and possibly adding a sidewalk on the south side.
Installing a temporary bridge to maintain traffic while the Bridgeport bridge is closed and repaired.
Demolishing the Grand Hotel property and also a gas station at Bridge and Lancaster streets, to make way for a roundabout.
Closing part of Bridge Street West for construction and detouring some traffic along Shirk Place.
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