Construction on two Transit Windsor terminals on track for late spring completion

Two Transit Windsor terminals will be finished by late spring, offering more transit options to the city.

Construction of two Transit Windsor terminals is moving along well.

The expansion of the terminal in the city’s west end at Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare is expected to be completed in late spring, while the brand-new terminal in the city’s east end at the corner of Tecumseh Road and Lauzon Parkway is expected to be completed in late spring, early summer.

The west end terminal will be adding three new bus bays, for a total of nine, and will also allow for the accommodation of larger buses if the city chooses to purchase a larger fleet.

Meanwhile, the east end terminal will be relocating from Tecumseh Mall and will go from six bus bays to nine bays at the new terminal.

Both terminals will offer a space where the drivers can take their lunches and breaks.

James Chacko, Executive Director of Transit Windsor, says the east end terminals will have a very big impact on riders.

“There’s going to be some efficiencies just from the time of each route and because this is a nice, new modern terminal that’s going to be laid out and designed to accommodate our current bus fleet, and the growth around it, we just think it’s going to be an overall improved amenity for all riders who use the terminal,” he said.

He says the city’s accessibility committee has reviewed the traffic lights at Lauzon and Catherine Street, and Lauzon and Tecumseh for the east end terminal.

“Looking at the timing and all the accessibility features of those are full, modern, accessible intersections, and those conversations with the traffic department they’ve indicated that both intersections fully comply with all the accessibility requirements, and the standards and guidelines,” he said.

Chacko says both terminals will allow for the accommodation of larger buses.

“As we continue to re-evaluate our fleet and look for the best efficiencies in purchasing new buses, we are continuing to look at some articulated buses so it’s a larger bus, so we need the space and different bays at the terminals to be able to accommodate those larger buses, so that was part of the expansion at the west end, and it’s also the type of buses that the new east end terminal will be able to accommodate as well.”

The east end terminal had a project budget of just under $7.9 million, while the west end was just under $3.65 million.

Chacko says both of these projects are funded with city capital dollars and leveraged with grant funding.