Community expresses concern about OC Transpo bus garage
Posted Feb 5, 2010 By Sheena Bolton
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Tweet ThisEMC News Members of the Riverview Park Community Association (RPCA) are worried about their quality of life once the new OC Transpo bus garage is built.
The first phase of the new garage, currently under construction, is set to accommodate 132 articulated buses, according to city staff. These buses will use Industrial Ave. to enter and exit the facility, making the community concerned about the potential increase of noise, traffic and pollution.
Members of the RPCA also said they don't believe they were properly consulted on the proposed second phase of the project, which will house an additional 80 buses. The community's councillor, Peter Hume, who represents Alta Vista ward, however, says the group was properly advised about the planned second phase, which has so far been approved by the transportation committee, but is contingent on the results of an environmental assessment.
Phase one of construction on the new bus garage will be complete by the end of August, with an opening date of September 2010 and OC Transpo expects it to be fully operational by November.
On Jan. 27, the association held a public meeting that approximately 50 local residents attended to discuss the issue and possible next steps.
"When I took on the job (as president of the community association) and I asked everybody if there were any contentious issues in the community and I was told absolutely not," said RPCA president Karin Keyes Endemann.
"Here we are three months later dealing with one of the biggest issues we've had to deal with since the beginning of our community association, almost 20 years ago."
Part of the reason for the issue becoming significant for the community is that numbers regarding the accommodation of buses in phase one differ between the city and community association. According to city staff, the first phase of the bus garage will house 132 buses, while the community group claims it will accommodate 150.
Both, however, agree that an additional 80 buses will be housed as a result of the second phase.
Kris Nanda, chair of the planning and development committee with the RPCA, gave an overview of the project at the recent community meeting.
"Originally there was a public open house in January of 2008 for ... a new facility that was supposed to look after about 150 articulated buses," said Mr. Nanda. "In May 2009, the city's transit committee voted to approve expanding that facility to 210 buses and now we are hearing numbers of 240 buses."
The association claims they didn't know about the expansion until after the transit committee approved the expansion, saying that 240 buses would be a 60% increase from the project's original figure of 150 buses. The expansion also increased the project's cost from $51 million to $97 million.
"Based on the figures we've received from OC Transpo two weeks ago there will be 281 articulated buses going in and out (of the bus garage) over each 24-hour period," Mr. Nanda stated.
He added that if each bus makes two runs that would create an additional 562 trips a day along Industrial Ave.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of public transit," Mr. Nanda said. "I'm a regular commuter and it's important the buses are looked after but the question is where and how come all these buses are here and how come we didn't get a chance to have input when a decision was made to increase the totals by 60%."
Aside from the additional traffic along Industrial Ave., a key concern for the RPCA is regarding the 80 buses of phase two, which will be stored outside and require lengthy idling in the winter months. Local residents are worried this will hinder the area's air quality.
The association wants OC Transpo to use the old abandoned rail yards, located behind the garage, instead of using Industrial Ave.
Coun. Hume said this area is identified in the Transportation Master Plan as future land for the Transitway.
"We are going to look at impact, but Industrial Ave. is a four-lane regional arterial road that's zoned industrial, and the use of a bus garage was contemplated with that in mind," said Coun. Hume.
The community association also expressed frustration about not being adequately consulted throughout the planning process for the bus garage.
"The RPCA board was not advised in advance of the May 2009 decision," said Mr. Nanda. "We didn't hear anything until we read about it in May 2009 that the committee voted to approve this huge increase in capacity."
Coun. Hume, however, said the RPCA has been informed throughout the entire process.
"We've been working with the neighbours who are most directly affected to do mitigation, ensure safe air quality, noise and traffic will be done and each time the neighbours went to the community association they were told the association had enough on its plate," said Coun. Hume. "It wasn't until the last open house (that) the RPCA wanted to be involved.
"We've been meeting through the spring, summer and fall," he added. "The disappointing thing is we've been working with the residents closest to the bus and briefing the community association president all the way along and this is a last ditch effort and now the community is in crisis."
Coun. Hume said last Thursday city council approved funds for mitigation work on the bus garage.
Last week, after EMC deadlines, the city and community meet, where Ms. Endemann was to present all the residents' questions and concerns. The main things she was focusing on was if all the traffic could be moved off Industrial Ave. and if the extra 80 buses of phase two could be moved to another garage in the city.
