![Raechel-Reed-FW-BIA Fort William BIA Board Chair Raechel Reed is excited to see a great spring cleaning effort in downtown Fort William](https://www.netnewsledger.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Raechel-Reed-FW-BIA.jpg)
THUNDER BAY – Spring might be slow in coming but in the downtown Fort William Business Improvement Area, the spring cleaning efforts are well underway. Fort William BIA Chair Raechel Reed shares that on Friday dozens of bags of litter were picked up along Brodie Street, Victoria Avenue, May Street, and the back lanes in the neighbourhood.
Downtown Fort William is an area of the city where getting the area up and over the negatives and into the positives have been a real challenge over the past decade.
![Fort William BIA Board Chair Raechel Reed is excited to see a great spring cleaning effort in downtown Fort William](https://www.netnewsledger.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Raechel-Reed-FW-BIA-610x367.jpg)
Over the course of the past week, the snow banks have been removed. This allows a far easier access to businesses in the area, especially for seniors.
There are some real bright spots going on for the downtown Fort William neighbourhood. A number of new businesses have opened their doors in recent months. There are a growing number of women who are opening businesses in the downtown.
Tonight, April 14th, 2018 some of the downtown Fort William businesses, The Hub is nominated for the New Business Excellence Award, and the Blue Door Bistro is nominated for the Small Business Excellence Award.