STO to move Ottawa terminus in wake of complaints Last Updated: Wednesday, August 20, 2008 | 12:37 PM ET Comments0Recommend0CBC News
Starting in September, transit buses from the Outaouais will no longer park or idle on King Edward Avenue, George Street and York Street in Ottawa in the afternoons, following complaints from neighbourhood residents about pollution and safety concerns.
Instead, passengers will have to board at the new Union bus terminus under a ramp of the Macdonald-Cartier bridge, Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO) spokeswoman Céline Gauthier said Tuesday.
In addition, the STO is looking into rerouting some of the buses in the morning, and is in discussions with Ottawa's transit service, OC Transpo, about the issue.
The announcement came as Georges Bédard, councillor for Rideau-Vanier, prepared to call for a ban on bus lay-bys on King Edward Avenue, George Street and York Street, where STO buses have 21 parking spaces used while they wait for the start of their afternoon routes.
The proposal was to go before the city's transportation committee on Wednesday, and is a ban that Lowertown residents have been pushing for.
Michel Vallée, vice-president of the Lowertown Community Association, said the pollution from the buses is affecting the health of local residents, and there is a daycare centre next to where the buses wait.
Bédard's report to the transportation committee said the buses expose people in the neighourhood to "dangerously high levels of toxic emissions" as they are almost constantly idling.
In addition, the buses block the view of drivers trying to turn, especially parents trying to pick up their children at the daycare centre, the report said.
Bédard said the City of Ottawa has done its part by constructing the new terminus and is now asking the City of Gatineau and the STO to do theirs.
Hélène
I was just going to post the same article!
That's great news - nice to see that efforts are being noticed; congratulations and thanks to everyone involved in making this happen.
Radio-Canada reports basically the same information, however, they say "la Société de transport indique qu'elle évalue plusieurs sites pour déplacer ses autobus le MATIN. D'ailleurs, l'organisme et le comité consultatif des transports de la Ville d'Ottawa ont négocié un compromis mercredi. Les autobus de l'Outaouais (STO) pourront rester stationnés sur les rues George et York et l'avenue King Edward (le matin?) jusqu'en octobre".
Therefore, I assume that as of November, STO buses won't be able to park nor idle on these streets anytime during the day.
