Uptown exchange
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B.C. Transit is reverting back to plan A when it comes to downtown bus lanes.
Planners have decided a curb-side bus scheme on Douglas Street, rather than a dedicated centre lane, is the way to go to move people from Belleville Street to Uptown shopping centre.
The decision comes with a side note: Government Street looks like an attractive option to streamline the route, with the possibility of buses running one direction along Douglas and the opposite direction on Government.
The preliminary discussion for downtown was just part of a regional transit alignment announcement from B.C. Transit which identified Uptown as the future destination for transit traffic travelling from the West Shore, rather than downtown, as it is currently.
“We can’t just keep doing what we’re doing,” said Erinn Pinkerton, project manager for Victoria Regional Transit, adding that 19 bus routes currently run up and down Douglas Street.
B.C. Transit’s preferred alignment for a regional transit model brings people from Station Avenue in Langford, along Goldstream Avenue to Island Highway, down a dedicated transit route between the Trans-Canada Highway and Galloping Goose Trail to Uptown. From there, riders can carry on to downtown or elsewhere on the Peninsula.
B.C. Transit president and CEO Manuel Achadinha said developing a transit exchange at Uptown is a priority because, according to the company’s study’s, only 14 per cent of people travelling from the West Shore to Victoria are destined for downtown.
ecardone@vicnews.com
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