Bus service to Veiner Centre questioned

By Letter to the Editor on May 31, 2018.

As the renovated Veiner Centre nears completion, can Medicine Hat Transit explain why it decided to put the new bus stop 50 to 100 yards from the entrance of the new centre? Those walking from that bus stop will have to cross over the parking lot to get to the entrance. Imagine using a walker or cane walking that distance in the winter months. The old centre had bus service right to the door.

So why not now? Transit will tell you there is no room for a bus to turn around in the new design. But fire trucks must be able to turn around. Aren’t they about the same size?

OK, so let the bus drop off folks in back off Second Street. There’s room to turn around there. Still a small walk but a lot safer than the front entrance walk.

But Transit says there isn’t time to go down Second Street and turn around. Well, if Mussolini could make the trains run on time in Italy 80 years ago I’m sure there is someone in Medicine Hat that can make one bus route efficient enough to run on time too.

Currently the bus route comes off Minto Avenue and up Fifth Street to Woodman Avenue, turns right all the way to Second Street. The new route would have the bus turn a block sooner onto Washington. That intersection is much narrower for buses to turn onto than Woodman. Not as safe.

All of this is designed to make sure the bus runs on time. However, this change was prompted so the buses could drop off patrons to Medalta. I challenge transit to show us figures of transit use to Medalta versus to the Veiner Centre. I’ll wager transit doesn’t have such figures.

Please, can we rethink this situation before there is a serious accident?

Tom Rooke

Medicine Hat

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