After long anticipation, the downtown bus terminal design has been released.
First thoughts:
- The use of glass is great, but, what's with the top level/roof? Assuming it is the mechanical house, why can't it be covered up (screens, signage, trees, shrubs)? It's overbearing, in a very bad way. On a small scale building (as is the case with Persephone), having a curved, glass facade does not make up for an ugly roof.
Other than the roof, I am pleased with the design (and keep the canopy). The curved wall opens up to 3rd Ave, City Hall kitty corner, and the Frances Morrison Main Library directly across 3rd Ave (perhaps an expanded library over Mulberry's...and I support an expansion of the civic square onto 23rd).
Source - Star Phoenix, Saturday, September 5th (print edition).
City unveils bus mall design
New terminal will help reduce crime: transit manager says
By David Hutton, The Star Phoenix September 5, 2009 Be the first to post a comment
The city's transit manager is hoping the design of the new $7-million downtown bus terminal will help reduce crime in the area and bring back riders turned off by the area's reputation.
"Some people are apprehensive about coming to our downtown terminal, there's no ifs, ands or buts about it," said city transit manager Mitch Riabko in an interview Friday.
"We wanted to make it safe, not just for customers, but for people walking through there to go downtown or to the riverbank."
The terminal, to be built at the location of the current bus mall on 23rd Street between Second and Third avenues, will be designed around a large island with a centrepiece public plaza and shell-shaped building that will include a coffee shop, a large waiting area, service kiosks and staff rooms.
The design of the new 23rd Street terminal will be released next week to the city's executive committee for approval, then taken to two public meetings to get input.
The new glass-front terminal building, which will be constructed on the city-owned parking lot on the corner of 23rd Street and Third Avenue, will come equipped with closed-circuit television cameras outside and a central office for security guards, Riabko said.
There will be trees, benches, crosswalks and bus shelters that will match the work being done streetscaping Third Avenue. A winding sidewalk will maintain pedestrian access through the downtown, Riabko said. The 13 bus stops loop in a P-shape around the central island, where riders will congregate.
A large overhead canopy that would cover the public plaza is included in concept drawings, but is not part of the $7-million price tag, he said.
If approved, construction will get underway next spring and is expected to take 16 months, said Rob Tomiyama of the city's infrastructure services department.
With the opening of the upscale King George condos and the Second Avenue Lofts, the terminal will be an important hub to link downtown, Tomiyama said.
Built in 1982, the downtown bus mall has long had a reputation for being unsafe, driven home by the empty buildings, marred by graffiti and boarded-up windows, that have long marked the block.
Terry Scaddan, executive director of The Partnership, the city's downtown business improvement district, said he supports the plan's focus on improving security and increasing ridership.
The current bus mall has deterred businesses from opening in the area, he said. With no terminal building for people to seek shelter in during inclement weather, bus riders often huddle inside the front doors of area businesses to stay warm.
"It has never worked," Scaddan said of the downtown bus mall.
"The net effect has been that there has been a continuous closing of businesses in the adjacent area and the obvious perception that it's not a safe place and some evidence that perception is close to reality."
When the new terminal opens, the block will be closed to traffic.
During construction, the downtown bus terminal will likely be relocated on 23rd Street between the main library and City Hall, Riabko said.
Riabko hopes the new terminal will lift the negative perception and build on recent boosts in ridership, which has increased dramatically since new routes were unveiled and university students signed on for a universal bus pass.
Transit ridership declined for 17 straight years before posting a small increase in 2006. It has seen some of the largest gains in the country since.
This year, ridership is up another 4.5 per cent, Riabko said.
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I did my best to capture the Fireworks Festival (without a tripod!)...
One of many dance performances...
Belly dancers
Not sure about the origins/name of this group...but they were spinning for their entire set (I would have fell over...many times, I am sure).
Belly dancers with fire
ISO cranked up, burst shots, without a tripod...fireworks are not my specialty
(I recall mention of a Facebook group/event page and people were asked to post photos there...anyone is interested, do a search for it).
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Rick Haldenby, chair of the Canadian University Schools of Architecture and a board member of the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada, was impressed by the amount of interest and support he received from various municipal, provincial and university officials. With everything that was said by Haldenby, along with comments from other attending speakers, it was obvious that there is a serious effort to bring this proposal to reality. Using Cambridge/Waterloo as an example, Haldenby noted the U of W reluctance to pay for the cost of a new building to house the long established school of architecture. As a result of Waterloo's complacency (lack of interest), the City of Cambridge was able to entice the school to relocate in a redeveloped building (a mill of some sort) in downtown Cambridge, riverside (City of Cambridge contributed ~10 million IIRC). 
Paint them BLUE? Lol, I think everyone here would agree that the blue lamp posts and whatnot on 2nd Ave. could use a makeover, let alone giant pillars under a three-storey building. 
. If that is the best we can do for a ghetto, we do have work to do. I suspect she feels that any part of the city outside Briarwood is ghetto. 
Oh I agree it needs serious help, but Hastings and Main it is not. Like I said, I'm glad that council is really thinking this through. Thise two councillors in particular, I would not expect to give a shit, and I am impressed that they are at least expressing high expectations for the terminal.
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