“I made a list of complaints,” said one of many individuals who stepped up to the microphone during a public input session about bus rapid transit at Budweiser Gardens, letting a roll of receipt paper drop to the floor, and drawing a laugh from an audience of more than 900 people.
“First and foremost, I took the bus tonight. I parked at Argyle, because I didn’t think I’d be able to find a parking space downtown,” said Wayne Loucks, a local carpenter.
At a meeting that lasted more than six hours, the majority of those who took to the podium spoke against the city’s $560-million bus rapid transit plan dubbed “Shift,” voicing concerns on everything from accessibility for those who travel in wheelchairs, to London’s history with sinkholes, and whether rapid transit will really increase ridership.
Loucks’ comments were greeted with applause, prompting a reminder from Mayor Matt Brown.
It wasn’t the first or the last time Brown would have to call for order inside the arena, responding to either applause or jeers from the audience.
Helen Reardon was one of the few on Wednesday evening to show support for Shift, telling the crowd that “great cities have great transit,” and she was in favour of both a tunnel under Richmond Street, and two-way flow on King Street.
“Transit for a city of this size is a no-brainer,” she explained. “People say… that there aren’t enough riders on the transit that we have now. I’ll tell you the problem: I can ride my bike right now to any place in this city, faster than I can take the LTC. Why is that? That is because we don’t have dedicated lanes for our buses.”
Colleen Murphy expressed dissatisfaction with the existing system too, and that although there will be “growing pains” associated with installing BRT — it would be worth it.
“When looking for work, one of the qualifications listed by employers is a valid driver’s licence, and yet, driving is not part of the job. Think about that. Our business owners know that our current transit system is not reliable,” she said.
Others called on council to put the contentious matter to a referendum.
“I want to ask you a specific question,” said the meeting’s first public speaker, Tom Costello.
After the two-hour mark, the crowd inside Budweiser Gardens began to dwindle. Around one-fifth of the stadium had been sectioned off for the highly-anticipated bus rapid transit public input session, and there were hardly any empty seats to be found when it kicked off at 4 p.m.
A number of staff, including transit engineer Brian Hollingworth and consultant Eric Peissel, delivered a presentation for the first hour before fielding technical questions posed by city staff, and then opened up four microphones to the public.
Earlier this year, city council stalled a decision on finalizing the exact routes after facing intense criticism for its plan.
Now that the people have spoken, the issue is back up for debate at city hall on May 15 and 16.
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