Articulated Bus Depot

[jwilliamson]

Articulated bus facility coming to Waterloo
02 Dec 2015 | Waterloo Record | Link

Regional staff are set to begin an environmental assessment for a new transit facility in the city’s north end that will ultimately allow Grand River Transit (GRT) to double its bus fleet and add articulated buses to the mix.

The new facility, which will be located at the former Waterloo North Hydro (WNH) headquarters at 300 Northfield Dr., will eventually house nearly 250 buses and be a repair facility for articulated buses.

GRT currently has a fleet of 290 buses but none that are articulated, and the master plan predicts the fleet must grow to meet future need.

“The transit master plan for GRT has identified that another site is needed to service the region’s transportation network,” said Jerry Biersteker, senior project manager at the Region of Waterloo. “It’s identifying future needs, based on population growth, that we’re going to need more buses and our existing facilities will be maxed out.”

The site is roughly two kilometres from Conestoga Mall and many of the region’s bus routes begin and end at or near the mall. Having a storage and maintenance facility so close to the mall — rather than making the 15 km trip to the Strasburg Road bus facility — will improve efficiency.

“If you can save 20 minutes per bus, or 40 minutes per bus, it’s a huge operating cost,” Biersteker said.

The region is looking to begin operating at the new site by 2021, but a lot of work still lies ahead. The first is the environmental assessment that just got underway. An estimated $65 million has been budgeted for the facility and the region has already pushed the opening back by one year.

The assessment will include an archaeological, heritage and transportation study, as well as any cleanup that may be necessary at the former hydro site. Early tests have already located areas with salt and fuel contamination.

The region has hired consulting firm IBI Group to complete the assessment and early indicators suggest the current 45,000-square-foot building will be demolished and replaced with a 300,000-square-foot facility on the 6.9 hectare (17 acre) site.

The region purchased the triangular piece of property from Kappeler Masonry for about $7.35 million in 2014. The masonry company initially purchased the former hydro property in 2013.

After the masonry company purchased the lot, several nearby companies — including BlackBerry — raised some concerns over the visual impact the masonry business may have by storing building materials on the property.

Biersteker said the region engaged in talks with the city when they first purchased the site.

“There were a number of things they identified they would like to see with the future use of the site,” he said. “None of them were major or affected the deal we made to purchase the site, and we indicated we would have future conversations with them.”