Petition saves Brandon Transit bus stop from being removed in new route network
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/07/2017 (3139 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A successful petition signed by 50 residents has saved a Douglas Street bus stop from being removed from Brandon Transit’s new route network.
Blaine Kachur led the charge on behalf of the residents, many of whom live with physical and mental disabilities.
“Thanks to everyone for taking their part, and thanks to (the City of Brandon) for deciding not to exclude this area,” he said.
The stop on the 600 block of Douglas Street is located steps away from their apartment blocks. Kachur suffers from a rare form of arthritis,resulting in very limited mobility and chronic pain. One of the main reasons he moved to the apartment two years ago was its proximity to a bus stop.
The new route structure originally removed that stop, with the closest one being about two blocks away. While that fell within the city’s goal of providing access to a bus route within 400 metres (four blocks) of most residences, Kachur said it would have created major problems for those with disabilities.
“It’s hard for people to understand unless they have the problem, or experience it for themselves,” he said. His neighbours include low-income families and single mothers as well.
After receiving the feedback throughout the consultation process, Brandon Transit manager Courtney Brister said they decided to add the Douglas Street stop back into the plan.
“We have quite a few people, I heard from the drivers, that are very happy about it,” she said.
The revamped network will come into effect at 6 a.m. on July 31, following an extensive review and research period over the past few years. The city has outgrown the existing network, which was implemented in 2002, and was in need of an upgrade.
The new route network provides very similar coverage to what is currently offered. All routes would see some degree of change, but no changes would be made to current service hours — Monday to Saturday, 6 a.m. to midnight, and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays/holidays.
Adjustments have been made to the proposed plan over the past few months. In some cases, the direction of travel has been reversed to better meet the needs of riders. Route 23 will now go south on Sixth Street, while Route 5 will go north on First Street.
“To better accommodate our riders, we also switched the south end section of (Routes) 16 and 17 to make some connections work for the south end loop,” Brister said.
Transit stops will be removed along Braecrest Drive and McDonald Avenue due to very low ridership along these streets. For riders in these areas, a new Trans-Cab system will be available through the Brandon Transit office.
“You’ll have to call into us, and we will set up a pickup time for you at your location … and we will take you to one of four (stops),” Brister explained. “There’s two for Braecrest and two for McDonald, one goes north and one goes south on each one, and from there you’ll catch your bus.”
Riders who use the current stops along Braecrest Drive and McDonald Avenue are urged to contact Brandon Transit at 204-729-2279 or by emailing transit@brandon.ca to learn more about the new method.
“We’ll definitely get you where you need to go, we will not forget about you,” Brister said. “But we do need to alter how we get you there, to be more economically friendly.”
The new route structure eliminates the two circular routes (Route 20 and 21), as they were very inefficient to run. Brister said they will redesignate resources to provide “the same coverage, but in a more cost-effective way.”
New route names, chosen from a variety of suggestions submitted by Brandon Transit riders and staff, will also come into effect July 31: TransCanada (Route 4), Assiniboine (Route 5), Maryland West (Route 8), Victoria West (Route 14), East Hospital/ACC (Route 15), South End Link (Route 16), South Central (Route 17), Riverheights West (Route 22) and 1st Street South (Route 23).
New signage is being installed at all route stop locations. Riders are encouraged to visit Brandon Transit’s Google Trip planner site, which will be available with the new system on July 24.
Visit brandontransit.ca for full route information.
» jaustin@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @jillianaustin