New Metro Transit terminal approved for Dartmouth Common
Posted Jun 9, 2010 05:55:30 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
An urban forest in Dartmouth will soon be the home of a new bus terminal.
Regional councillors voted 20-3 last night in favour of the Metro Transit expansion on the Dartmouth Common near the MacDonald Bridge.
Transit officials have said the existing terminal at the Dartmouth Sportsplex isn’t big enough to handle future growth in transit service and use.
Several Dartmouth residents and transit operators came to city hall to debate the issue of preservation versus function during a lengthy and animated public hearing.
Area resident and teacher Mike Cosgrove says the proposed bus terminal expansion will result in losing acres of park space on the Dartmouth Common between the Sportsplex and Dartmouth High School.
“In Halifax the Public Gardens, the Common, Point Pleasant Park are cherished by its citizens,” he said. “This was never more apparent than after Hurricane Juan. People rushed to these parks to survey the damage.”
He suggested making Alderney Landing a transportation hub instead.
But Amalgamated Transit Union President Wayne McKenzie say the Common isn’t a safe park.
“You can go up there now and, excuse me, but it’s selling drugs, drinking, partying it’s non-stop every night,” he said. “Our drivers see this every night.”
Several residents echoed McKenzie’s concerns, saying the urban forest would better serve the neighbourhood as a bus terminal.
Several drivers, including an angry Paul MacDonald, also pleaded with council to make a decision about a new terminal immediately, as they have no access to water or washrooms at the current location.
“Please, you got to do it and do it now, it cannot be delayed for another study,” he said, pounding the lectern for emphasis. “I don’t care. Bulldoze the site we got now, move the ScotiaBank, move the high school, I don’t care. Look after your employees.”
Once the $9.5 million project is put to tender, the urban forest will be razed – but hundreds of trees will be planted on the terminal site.
