Metro Transit - Dartmouth Bridge Terminal | Operational
Wheels in motion for new Dartmouth bus terminal
Project to sprawl onto city parkland By PATRICIA BROOKS ARENBURG Staff Reporter Mon. Apr 13 - 5:27 AM It’s been a long wait, but a new bus terminal for Dartmouth is en route. "We’re proceeding with plans to start building in the spring," Metro Transit spokeswoman Lori Patterson said Sunday. The new terminal will replace the current one next to the Dartmouth Sportsplex near the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge. A city website says the new terminal will be similar to but much bigger than the one at Portland Hills. It will include: 16 bus bays, eight of which will be for articulated buses; an enclosed terminal waiting area; enhanced security measures; and the ability to accommodate low-floor buses. Ms. Patterson was at home when contacted Sunday and didn’t have figures and exact dates at hand. But she said the "funds were in the budget since 2006 or ’07, and it was approved to go ahead." Halifax Regional Municipality worked on the plans for about six years before the province hopped on board and amended the Municipal Government Act last November, allowing construction to extend over six acres of the Dartmouth Common, opening the doors for the project. An estimated 18,000 commuters get on the bus at the Dartmouth terminal each day, Ms. Patterson said Buses make between 1,200 and 1,400 daily trips to the terminal, said Dan MacDonald, president of Local 508 of the Amalgamated Transit Union. "What people don’t realize is that with the (existing) terminal, we can only take so many buses per hour. With this new terminal, we’ll be able to . . . give transit the opportunity to be able to expand. That’s the big thing — expansion." Expanding the terminal into part of the Dartmouth Common was a cause for concern among some residents, said area councillor Gloria McCluskey, who has supported building a new terminal. The wooded area behind the Sportsplex, which will be part of the new terminal, is a "dirty area that’s always full of garbage," but she said the city "could’ve done better with their consultation." "We have to have a place for residents to get on the bus and not everybody’s happy with it. It would be nice if we had another spot, but for now, it looks as though that’s the only spot we have." The new terminal is going to be good for the union and for the people of Dartmouth, Mr. MacDonald said. "It gives the people of Dartmouth the ability to get the service that they’ve . . . so longingly deserved." The terminal is expected to open in the fall. ( pbrooks@herald.ca) |
Gloria is also trying to get funds to fix up the field at dartmouth High. There is a meeting April 22 re the renovations at Dartmouth High. ZET
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It's pretty bad that it takes this city 5 years to build a bus terminal. But on the upside at least we are getting it.
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Fixing Dartmouth High is an HRSB/provincial responsibility, I hope there is no talk of putting city money into it, except maybe the gym/auditorium if that will be made more accessable to the public like Citadel's.
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Good news. I was beginning to worry that we wouldn't see it this year. That bus terminal is badly needed. Still not a huge fan of the design though.
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Here is the rendering for the terminal;
Bridge Terminal Expansion And this was brought up on another thread but the Sportsplex is also being expanded to include som basketball courts at some point in time. |
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The $ that I mentioned per Gloria was realted to the sports field, which is a HRM responsibility. re the rendering for the bus terminal I can't figure out how it is situated. Is the building at the top of the rendering the scotia bank on Wyse rd? ZET |
I really dont like he design of this terminal either. I have a feeling that its gonna be a big mess and bottleneck with the enter/exit at the west end, and a loop at the far end. Its a very long dock. I'd really liked to have seen something like at MicMac Mall where it slides up against the roadside.. with two-way traffic.. that works well.
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Wyse Rd is at the top, Nantucket is on the right. I believe the buses coming from Wyse will use the same entrance they currently do and same for the Nantucket buses. The crosswalk on the bottom right is the one in front of McDonald's. |
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That would be the existing Scotiabank at the corner of Wyse and Nantucket.
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It just doesn't seem like a lot of "wiggle room" in that drawing (it's not a rendering, looks like they used crayons) between the outside lanes where buses will undoubtedly be required to layover, and the bays where in service buses are embarking/disembarking. |
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None of the routes go up Nantucket though, so everything would end up looping back down to Wyse regardless.
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Don't get me wrong, if I was in charge I woulda renovated St Pats, PA and DH with the 30 million Citadel cost, and sold off QEH. The engineers said it would take 13-15 million to do St Pats. Imagine what 6-7 million each at PA and DH would do. EDIT - as for the terminal, I just hope they put a full set of lights at the intersection on Nantucket, someone turning left into Sportsplex can murder the traffic situation during rush hour. |
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As for the terminal I think they could easily incorporate an entrance at the top to Nantucket and reroute a couple of buses from Boland down Victoria and into the terminal. |
I've never been a fan of removing existing service...
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Alright, I've got to ressurect this thread. I go to the sportsplex terminal 5 days a week and I have yet to see any work to start on this. It's beginning to become quite apparent that the wheels are not in motion at all lol. Anybody hearing anything about this?
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It's a HRM project, so expect some speedy progress on this over the next decade or so. ;)
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