Run buses from Via station: Mayor
By JON WILLING, OTTAWA SUN
Last Updated: March 18, 2010 8:35pm
http://www.ottawasun.com/news/ottawa.../13283171.html
Mayor Larry O’Brien is greasing the wheels to create a transportation nucleus at the Via Rail station off Riverside Dr.
O’Brien is trying to get Via onboard with the idea, which would have the train station be a one-stop shop for Greyhound bus, Via train and city transit services in the national capital.
“It’s good to have a transportation hub,” O’Brien said Thursday after sending a letter to Via president Marc Laliberte pitching the idea.
The mayor had discussed the possibility with former Via president Paul Cote, who retired at the end of 2009.
Now, O’Brien is asking Laliberte to enter the discussion with an open mind.
Greyhound has already indicated it would be interested in moving its operations from the current bus terminal on Catherine St. to the Via station on Tremblay Rd., O’Brien said.
In fact, O’Brien said the move could happen within a matter of months if Via accepted the proposal.
The setup would have added benefits since bus rapid transit and the future light-rail system would be within steps of the station.
O’Brien said a full service transit station could be the perfect base for trains, buses and taxis.
Ongoing development in the area of the train yards is creating a destination point in Ottawa, with shopping and the baseball stadium nearby.
And if Greyhound does move, it could spur development of the existing bus station downtown, the mayor said.
jon.willing@sunmedia.ca
some pros
-better access to various modes of transportation
-better bus service (transitway station, future metro station)
-existing station could be redeveloped
cons
-isolated, can't really walk anywhere (for now)
-"destination point" may take a while to happen
-distance from core: if we are going to put all the effort into moving it, is there a spot closer to the core? one of the great things about Toronto's bus station is that you get off and within a short distance you have Dundas Square, hotels, Eaton Centre, etc.