Some transit users are concerned about the loss of park and ride spots at the St. Albert Centre transit terminal for several months.
The terminal is scheduled to close from April 30 to August 25 to accommodate work on the Project 9 trunk sewer line, which will require closing Rivercrest Crescent to all traffic south of the terminal.
During that time, a temporary transit terminal will be set up to the west across St. Albert Trail, on Muir Drive between McKenney and St. Vital avenues. Some of the space currently there for park and ride will be lost during the construction period.
The most significant concern for transit users the Gazette spoke to this week was that parking – which is already scarce at the St. Albert Centre Park and Ride – would be disrupted.
“If there’s less parking, that’s the only thing that really scares me,” student Brett Boddez said. “If I can’t find parking, I might as well just drive to NAIT.”
Shannon Coyne said she hadn’t even heard the terminal was set to move, but said her only real concern would be parking.
“It’s already a concern for me, because we already don’t have enough,” she said.
Bryce Van de Walle said he doesn’t often take the bus, and isn’t particularly worried about the impact of the possible move – especially as it has been timed to coincide with post-secondary institutions’ spring and summer sessions, when demand for the service is significantly less.
“It won’t even be a concern for most,” he said.
Senior project manager Larry Galye said the impact on transit users was taken into account when scheduling Project 9, which will expand the storm-sewer capacity and allow more development north of the Sturgeon River to the north and west of the city.
“That’s why we’ve chosen that period of four months, April 30 to August 25, because they’re operating on their summer schedule,” he said.
But he acknowledged that there would be some potential disruption for transit users, especially those who use the park and ride at the mall. He said there will be parking available there throughout the construction period, but in order to minimize the impact riders are encouraged to use the Village Transit Station west of St. Albert Trail at Gate Avenue instead.
“There should be additional park and ride space available at Village Tree,” he said. “So instead of having to park at the normal St. Albert one and walk that distance, the option is there for them to use Village Tree.”
Galye said while Rivercrest Crescent south of the terminal will be closed, drivers will still be able to get into the St. Albert Centre parking lot via the northern portion of Rivercrest Crescent, at the west side of the mall property.
“We will still maintain access from St Albert Trail into St. Albert Centre as it exists right now,” he said. “We want to keep the roadway open, all four lanes, two lanes in and two lanes out.”
Parking along Muir Drive and some parts of St. Vital Avenue will be restricted during the transit centre closure, as with just the single street rather than a multi-lane terminal, much of the space will be used by buses.
For more information about the closure, residents can speak with transit officials at an open house April 11, from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Heritage Room at the St. Albert Inn.
