Transit decision

A disabled transit user said she doesn’t like the temporary city hall bus terminal and she isn’t happy the city may extend its life span for up to three years.

Transit officials are expected to bring a recommendation to city council Monday asking to extend the life of the temporary bus terminal outside city hall for an additional two or three years.

The recommendation asks that $160,000 be added to the preliminary 2011 transit operation budget for security and allowing the public to access the city hall lobby and main floor washrooms after regular business hours.

Rina Buset uses a walker and said she uses the bus everyday to go to her physiotherapy.

"I was really disappointed they moved here," Buset said. "There is nothing to sit on and no heat in the winter. It’s really bad."

While she could go inside city hall during the winter, Buset said she and other disabled people want a building better equipped for the disabled.

Christine Saunders, another regular transit user, said she uses public transit everyday and depended on the bus when she had a job. She said the on-street terminal wasn’t ideal with the colder weather being a high concern.

"Sometimes I wait 45 minutes on Sunday," Saunders said. "It’s nice in the summer but not very good in the winter."

Coun. Robert Tuchenhagen said accepting the recommendation would be best decision for the city to make.

While he said that the site selection process wasn’t handled well by council members and administration, Tuchenhagen added that security from transit and the police have helped to make the terminal a better place for residents.

He said keeping the bus terminal at city hall would save more than $100,000 compared to other potential locations.

"It is the best choice given what we have to choose from," Tuchenhagen said. "Based on what I’ve seen at the temporary location at city hall it has gone very well. We have a beautiful building at city hall now and it’s nice to see the activity there. To my knowledge, there hasn’t been any real issues with security."

Bert Vancook, a minister at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, said he first heard of the recommendation on Wednesday, he said he would probably email councillors his concerns or appear before city council during the Monday meeting.

The temporary bus terminal proved more of an inconvenience with limited parking for church goers, noise from buses and far more requests to use the washrooms, he said.

"I wish they had talked to us before they put the temporary terminal here," Vancook said.

"We came to work one morning and here it was. I think there were a few things they could have talked to us about that would have made it a little bit better for us."

Other businesses have voiced opposition toward the city hall location for the temporary bus depot when it was first brought to council in March. At that time, Joe Salini, owner of Blake’s Funeral Chapel, said there could be health and safety concerns and said he was worried his employees or clients could be hit by a car during a funeral procession due to the decreased visibility from the three proposed buses on May Street.