Moving of the Bus Terminal
I've been to the bus terminal, and without a doubt, it is indeed in need of a make over, everything seems dated (So was the airport, but of course that is getting taken care of). I am definitely in favour of moving it to the new airport. Moving it away from downtown can reduce the "worries" of 'illegal' activities among the travellers. We can never guarantee a place being completely safe. There is also another major problem with the downtown terminal, PARKING! In today's automobile society, parking is a major consideration when going anywhere, because chances are we'll be arriving in a car. There is very limited parking spaces at the downtown terminal for regular pick up and drop off, no more 25 spaces (most being occupied by taxis). I've only been there a handful of times, so I'm not sure if there is this "long-term" parking or parkade located somewhere else (I know that there is parkade of The Bay not far away). How else are we supposed to fill the 1500+ spaces at the new airport terminal, keeping in mind the old parkades won't be demolished either? Moving the two modes of transportation close to one another can allow travelers from remote communties/cities such as Portage la Praire, Brandon, Dauphin, etc... a more convenient travelling experience since they won't have to shuttle, bus, taxi their way to the airport after busing to Winnipeg. There are many hotels in the airport region, of all price ranges for tourists. There is transit service to the airport already, route 15, that takes you basically to downtown, it would only require a little rerouting or addition of buses to compensate for the relocation of the terminal, keeping in mind that the airport is not that far from downtown, only a 10 minute drive (non rush hour traffic), so I don't any major inconveniences. This can perhaps help "push" the need for a rapid transit system, since we are concentrating people to a common location which is the way a rapid transit system works, servicing a CONSTANT flow of riders. I will stop here about Rapid Transit as I realize that is discussed in another thread. I really hope to see improvements continue on in Winnipeg.
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