Grand River Transit users who ride route 21 will soon have an easier time waiting for the bus with three cement pads being installed at stops along the route.
“Grand River Transit, some of the locations people loading and unloading onto the bus or waiting for the bus are standing in grass. The preference is to have them on a hard surface like concrete where they can wait and so it’s a lot safer of a spot. We’re going to install a grass boulevard with concrete there, just so people aren’t standing there – you may notice a spot in the grass has been all worn down and everything at a typical bus stop,” said project manager Steve Yonemitsu.
The first location will be heading north between Memorial Avenue and Brubacher Street, while the second and third locations will be on Sawmill Road west of the roundabout. The second location will also receive a shelter at a later date.
The work will be conducted from 7 a.m. on August 14 and will end around 7 p.m. on August 18. This will have an impact on traffic on Arthur Street and on Sawmill Road, however two-way traffic will be maintained, Yonemitsu said.
“It’s a lot of pickup and go. It’s a small piece of concrete, to be honest, so [workers] have to mobilize the digging equipment and load it on and take it off and everything else. Some of the concrete work is a lot more involved. Some of it’s a lot less. They have to clear all the utility locates and do the groundwork before they can dig and all that,” he explained of the process.
According to Yonemitsu, there are 50 bus stops across the region receiving pads, which will cost around $500,000 total. However no location is the same, he said.
“In Woolwich, the contractor is going to be travelling a lot farther so it’s going to cost them more in gas and travel costs. Whereas just in town here, it might cost a bit less,” he said.
