The Park 'n' Ride Transit Terminal under construction in downtown Lethbridge (Lethbridge News Now)

By Justin Goulet and Lara Fominoff

Slow Ride

Lethbridge Park ‘n’ Ride terminal won’t likely be completed until summertime

May 22, 2019 | 12:20 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Nearly one year ago, while former Transportation Minister Brian Mason visited Lethbridge, it was projected that the new regional Park ‘n’ Ride Terminal would be completed in early 2019.

In late January 2019, Project Manager Rick Johnston was quoted as saying “we are anticipating a mid-June opening.”

Now, City Facility Services Manager Conrad Westerson is expecting the six-story concrete structure won’t likely be completed until the end of June at the earliest, with occupancy in August.

The project, which is also $2.9 million over budget because the City saved money on the project by utilizing a building design already in use in Red Deer – did not factor in design features needed to accommodate city buses or the city’s Downtown Area Redevelopment Plan. That brought the final tender over budget.

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The project cost was initially listed at just over $17,000,000. It’s now at $19,900,000 according to Westerson.

“The budget of ($19-million plus) is just exactly what’s needed to finish off the rest of the project.”

Nearly $1 million of that added $2.9 million will be used for brick work, vegetation and shrubbery.

However, when it’s completed, the Park ‘n’ Ride Transit Terminal will feature 293 parking stalls and will be located on 5 Avenue South between 7 and 8 Street. It will replace the current on-street transit hub.

In addition to offering drivers a place to park their vehicles before hopping on the bus for their commute, the site will also serve as the pick-up and drop-off location for the Highway 3 Connector transit route between Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.

As for any concerns regarding the project’s timeline, Westerson maintained they’re on schedule.

“Our intent was to have it done so that we can finish off deficiencies and start operationalization planning for a move-in of transit that would correlate with the move of their services,” he noted.

“They generally don’t do changes to their transit service lines until the end of August-beginning of September, so they only change it once a year.”

Westerson continued, saying that, “there will be deficiencies and a lot of stuff going on in the building to finalize everything inside in the July-August timeframe, but once we move into the August timeframe, you can expect to see buses and vehicles going in around that timeframe.”

SAFETY & SECURITY

Some concerns have been raised about safety in the area. Westerson said the intent is to have full-time security, with cameras installed in and outside of the terminal.

“The security person is also going to be the responsible entity for managing the ticketing on any parkers that are in the facility that shouldn’t be in there,” he said.

“There have also been some very positive and favourable comments made since The Watch program has been started and we’ve seen a marked change in behaviours downtown.”

The terminal is being built on 5 Avenue South between 7 and 8 Street (Lethbridge News Now)

Security in the building will be monitored, which also includes inspection of the public washrooms that will be available inside the terminal.

He spoke on potential conflicts between cyclists and buses moving along the busy downtown corridor.

“Our transit folks and the transportation folks have worked diligently to ensure safety is maintained for all of our pedestrians as well as any bicycling commuters that use those updated planned bike lanes.”

A MUCH-NEEDED DOWNTOWN AMENITY

Westerson said part of the main floor will be used not only for transit services, but also for “possible partners in regional transit”.

“The rest of the area, I believe there is 12,000 or 13,000 square feet on the second floor broken into two basic 6500 square foot areas and another 4,000 square feet on the main floor that are available for lease for the leasing public,” he explained.

He added that surrounding roads will be repaired as part of the project, due to conditions caused by the construction so far.

“All of the issues that were created as part of the construction project with regards to the back lane and the roads on 5 Avenue and 7 and 8 Street, both at the intersections and a little bit up both of the streets will be repaired as part of this project.”

Westerson believes the Park ‘n’ Ride Transit Terminal will be a vibrant, safe and convenient hub for downtown Lethbridge.

“It will provide a lot better usage for our traveling public. It will provide a comfortable and safe location because of the inside and the availability of public washrooms as well (inside the terminal),” he said.

“We’re hoping that the regional connectivity will be a major benefit for the Park ‘n’ Ride as well as for our downtown commuters, and that the three levels of parking that are going to be provided will (create) a much-needed downtown parking space.”