City is now paying more attention to the quality of the shelters at the downtown bus terminal.

By Staff

June 26th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

The eaves troughs are not cleaned, the seats are broken. Nothing inviting about the inside of the shelter. They look like the kind of thing you see in a slum in some city in the United States.

During the months of July and August 2018, the City of Burlington will be installing new bus shelters and sidewalk sections on John Street in downtown Burlington.

Bus stops will be relocated north towards James Street and south towards Pine Street. All stops will remain on John Street.

The map below sets out the temporary bus locations.

On the east side of John Street:

• Route 3 to Burlington GO moves north
• Route 4 to Appleby GO moves north
• Route 50 to Appleby GO moves north
• Route 52 to 407 Carpool moves north
• Route 300 to LaSalle moves north
• HSR Route 11 moves south

On the west side of John Street:

• Route 10 to Burlington GO moves north
• Route 3 to Cavendish moves south
• Route 5 to King moves south
• Route 300 to the Seniors Centre moves south

The west side sidewalk on John Street, between the Brant Street parking lot and the bus terminal, will be closed during construction.

Use the crosswalk in front of the Burlington Transit terminal or at the new multi-use pathway.

There was a time when a much larger bus terminal existed 25 yards to the left of this small terminal on John Street – it was where people met. There were fewer cars, Burlington didn’t have the wealth then that it has now. We were a smaller city, as much rural as suburban. The times have changed and transit now needs to change as well.

That downtown bus terminal has had a rocky history that reflects how the city has looked upon the transit service. The bus shelters were rather crappy places in need of an upgrade for the past couple of years. A city administration with a commitment to service would have cleaned those shelters up years ago.

There was a point when the Director of the Transit service recommended to city council that the actual terminal be shut down. If people wanted to buy tickets or update their Presto passes they could go to city hall – which closes as 4:30 pm.

That Director is no longer with the city.