Some members of Trail city council aren’t convinced about the location of a new downtown transit exchange. But BC Transit warns that while it is possible to start over and look for a different site, it would come with the risk of a years-long delay and increased costs.
BC Transit representatives presented to council this week what they described as a 90 per cent detailed design for the exchange, to be built over two blocks of Cedar Avenue between Spokane and Portland streets at a cost of $3.07 million.
It would include six bus bays, three large shelters with lighting, a public washroom, driver’s washroom, bicycle racks, widened sidewalks, and landscaping. The plan also calls for making Cedar a one-way street between Spokane and Helena. Overall parking would not be reduced.
But councillor Doug Wilson asked if BC Transit would be open to other locations, now that the city has demolished two buildings on Cedar between Spokane and Helena, where the transit exchange was previously located. He fears that whatever development goes up on the site might not be compatible with a transit hub.
“It seems to me like we’re going to handicap what we could potentially do in that space,” Wilson said. “It just doesn’t make sense to build something before we know we’re going to do.”
Wilson said he was aware design work on the transit exchange started long before the city awarded the demolition contract, “so you’re probably not too happy to hear all this, but I don’t like the location.” He suggested the Esplanade near the library as an alternate location.
Councillor Thea Hanson shared Wilson’s concerns. “Once this is here, what happens if we need access off one of these streets into underground parking?” she asked.
“Are we cart before horse without knowing what we’re putting there? Would [a transit exchange] deter a potential tenant from moving into a ground-floor commercial space? You’re not going to have someone wanting to open a patio restaurant if buses are sitting in front.” She said she would prefer to see the exchange wrap around Portland Street.
Mayor Colleen Jones agreed that if the transit exchange was moved further down toward Portland Street, it would benefit whatever buildings go up on the now-vacant sites.
“We don’t know what’s going in this building,” she said. “That whole sidewalk could be [an area] where people could sit, if we have restaurants in that new building, or even people living in that building could go down and sit there.”
BC Transit government relations manager Daynika White cautioned that because the project is largely funded through the provincial and federal government, any increases in costs would have to be borne by the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary.
Planning has been underway for several years, and the previous council signed off on the location. White said going back to the drawing board is possible, but they would start over with public engagement. She said the RDKB has made it clear that it won’t sign off on the project unless the City of Trail is happy.
White added that changing locations would mean a delay of several years before planning would return to the current stage. She said work to date has already eaten into the design budget, and if costs may go up, the RDKB may not be willing to pay for the increases.
White also said BC Transit expects its modern transit exchanges to attract businesses, not deter them.
If the city and RDKB approve the current design, BC Transit will start looking for a contractor, with construction expected to begin in the spring. The new exchange would be in service next fall.
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