Bus terminal could move to health centre property
Transit Windsor proposes setting up new west-end station at Hotel-Dieu Grace
A site near the front of the HotelDieu Grace Healthcare property off Prince Road is the proposed location for a new west-end Transit Windsor bus terminal.
“We want to gather feedback on whether that’s a good spot,” said Steve Habrun, planning manager for Transit Windsor. Transit Windsor is holding a public information session on Thursday about the suggested location.
“We are in the very early stages,” Habrun said.
“We want to see what the community has to say and whether that site is a good fit for everyone involved.”
The public meeting will take place inside the cafeteria in the Dr. Fouad Tayfour Rehabilitation Building from 4 to 8 p.m. at HotelDieu Grace Healthcare, located at 1453 Prince Rd.
Transit Windsor staff will be on hand to present the west-end terminal proposal, answer questions from residents and gather feedback.
The proposed bus terminal would be located at the front of the health-care centre’s property. The area is now used as a parking lot.
If the site is declared the preferred location in the coming months, Transit Windsor would have to work out an agreement with Hotel-Dieu Grace to use the property. Bus drivers would need a small space inside a nearby building to access as a rest stop. The west-end terminal on property off College Avenue — which has been used for nearly 20 years — must be vacated by Transit Windsor within the next 18 months. The large parking lot where the terminal is located was originally designed for parking at the former College Avenue Community Centre.
That centre is in the midst of being renovated to become the new home for the Sandwich Community Health Centre. The bus terminal across the street must be moved to convert the property back into a parking lot. City Coun. John Elliott, who represents the west-end, supports the use of the Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare’s property for a new bus terminal location. “That’s a good spot,” he said. “There is a lot of foot traffic there. There might be some questions and some people might have concerns, but I think most people will embrace it.
“It’s still in the same neighbourhood, you have easy access and the hospital is right there.” There were roughly 87,000 passengers who utilized the west-end terminal on College Avenue last year either to board a bus or as a transfer point, Habrun said. “It’s been a good location, but not the most visible,” he said. “We like to locate our transit terminals where there is good accessibility either for residents, or where there are commercial or public institutions — something that draws people. We believe the proposed Hotel-Dieu Grace site is a good location that does that. “Now we will see what the public has to say.”