The roadwork portion of the Victoria Street transit exchange is nearing completion in downtown Nelson, allowing bus service to start while finishing touches continue at the exchange, according to a news release from the City of Nelson.
On Monday, June 30, bus service from the Ward Street and Baker Street exchange will move over to the new transit exchange on Victoria Street between Kootenay Street and Stanley Street.
The news release reports that there will be some minor schedule and routing changes on all routes that service the city. BC Transit’s website shows up-to-date trip schedules and maps.
New bus shelters will be installed this summer.
"Once fully complete, the Victoria Street Transit Exchange will facilitate more frequent, regularly scheduled and aligned routes that will better connect residents and students to destinations within the region," the news release states.
The transit exchange has been under discussion at the city since it started inviting public input on its Downtown Urban Design Strategy in 2017. The city and BC Transit share the responsibility for transit planning and cost within Nelson.
The city and BC Transit have stated that the purpose of the project is to remove the arrivals and departures of buses from the congested area of Baker and Ward Streets, and to improve connections between various urban and rural buses.
The new transit exchange will include five bus bays (parallel with the street) with possible future expansion to six, two lighted bus shelters with glass walls, a mid-block crosswalk, improved street lighting, bike racks, water fountains, new sidewalks, and a public restroom at the existing planted area outside the library at the corner of Stanley and Victoria Streets.
The new location will reduce the number of parking spaces on the 300 block of Victoria and open up parking spaces on Ward and Baker Streets formerly taken up by bus stops.
Eighty per cent of the cost of the project has been covered by the federal government's Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.
