Take a last look around commuters, because the old Greyhound terminal is coming down in next couple of weeks and all out-of-town buses are being moved to the Fountain Street parking lot at the corner of Fountain Street and Wyndham. Sadly, this means that accessing the temporary bus terminal is going to be a pain for anyone coming in from downtown (Wyndham Street is closed between Carden and Farquhar remember), but 'tis the price of progress I suppose. Here's the city's press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GUELPH, ON, June 22, 2011 – Guelph’s Greyhound station is being razed in order to build a new inter-modal transit terminal and, while construction continues on the Carden Street site, Greyhound and GO Transit service will operate from a temporary location in the Fountain Street parking lot at the corner of Wyndham Street and Fountain Street.
"Three trailers are scheduled to arrive today," says City of Guelph Project Manager Andrew Janes. “Crews will connect water and wastewater services for two public washrooms, Guelph Hydro, Bell Canada and Rogers Communications will connect all the necessary utilities and, once that work is finished, the temporary station will be up and running."
Greyhound and GO Transit plan to start picking up and dropping off passengers at the temporary station on Tuesday, July 5. The station will continue to serve Greyhound and GO Transit patrons until the new inter-modal transit terminal is completed in November.
Pedestrian routes are also affected by construction in the area. Greyhound and GO Transit patrons can use Wilson Street, Gordon Street or Woolwich/Wellington Street to walk between the temporary station and parking areas downtown.
Also, Guelph Transit has added temporary stops to a number of routes to help riders access the temporary Greyhound/GO bus station.
About the inter-modal transit terminal
Guelph’s new inter-modal transit terminal will be located on Carden Street between Wyndham Street and Macdonell Street. The terminal is designed to improve connections between Guelph’s local bus service and regional public transit systems including Greyhound, GO Transit and VIA Rail. The City began construction on the $8 million facility in June 2010. The project is scheduled to be complete by October 31, 2011 in order to take advantage of $5.3 million in Provincial and Federal Infrastructure Stimulus Funds. Renovations inside the Guelph’s VIA Rail station will continue through 2012.
Further information and project updates are available at guelph.ca/construction
As a Greyhound commuter, many of us riders have been waiting for this day. We have been give 5 different times since April. Apparently, the contractor building the new terminal is ahead of schedule while the city is not.
ReplyDeleteI have been using the downtown station for the past year at least once a month, in the spring and summertime, frequency of bus use increases to each weekend.
ReplyDeleteLooking for the temporary station yesterday was a pain. Sure there are signs posted on the front of the door of the old station, but you can't see the little writing on the sign from behind the metal construction fence.
Sure there are arrows pointing in which direction to go to find the new bus station, but the arrows are not clear enough!
If this 'move' has been planned for months now, why did I not see a 'We're moving' sign at the old bus station? If there was one up, I didn't see it, meaning that it was not visible enough.
Thank you City of Guelph - you made me very frustrated yesterday. Luckily, I have since calmed down ;) Good luck with your construction project. A simple 'clear' sign goes a long way.