More than 100 people have signed a petition protesting the closure of west-end Ottawa neighbourhood liquor store, which the LCBO says is too small for them.

Liquor Control Board of Ontario spokesman Danièle Gauvin said there isn't enough parking, storage or delivery space at the Hintonburg store on Wellington Street, just west of downtown.

Its solution is to close the store and open a larger one in nearby Westboro as soon as January.

"Needs have changed. The community has grown," Gauvin said, "so we're moving to a larger facility that is more in line with some of the larger stores we have around the province."

The new store will be three times larger and will be located next to the Real Canadian Superstore at Kirkwood Avenue and Richmond Road. The LCBO says it will also consider opening a smaller store in Hintonburg catering to foot traffic.

Linda Hoad, president of the Hintonburg Community Association, is against the closure of the existing store, which she says brings money and people into the neighbourhood.

"They've managed quite well delivering liquor to the store since 1999, when they opened it," she said. "So I can't imagine that they couldn't continue to do that."

Her association initiated the petition.

Local residents have also written to their local MPP, Richard Patten, and 17 met with Barry O'Brien, the LCBO's director of corporate affairs, over the issue, according to local blogger Vicky (Miss Vicky) Smallman.

Smallman, who is running for city council in the ward of Kitchissippi and says she is an active member of the Hintonburg Community Association, has generated some discussion on her site.

A letter from Patten posted on the site says a report on the issue will go to the LCBO board on Sept. 19 and a final decision will be made after that.