Skip to content

Site proposed for temporary transit terminal

A gravel parking lot on 48th Street may be Red Deer Transit’s temporary hub while a three-storey downtown parkade is built over a 10-month period.

A gravel parking lot on 48th Street may be Red Deer Transit’s temporary hub while a three-storey downtown parkade is built over a 10-month period.

City administration is recommending the lot between 47A Avenue and 47th Street instead of a more controversial proposal that would close 47th Street between 49th and 48th Avenues.

Also being considered was the gravel parking lot used by Red Deer Public Market patrons on the northeast corner of 48th Street and 43rd Avenue.

City council will decide on Monday after reviewing each suggestion.

A staff report says that the parking lot on 48th Street would need to be paved, plus curbs and sidewalks and lights would be added to the tune of $600,000. Some public parking and city staff parking would be lost, and there would be some impacts to the transit schedule.

“The improvement in lighting resulting from this project will be a permanent benefit to the parking lot users, as well as Parkvale residents coming to and from the downtown,” says the report.

Although it would be cheaper to move the transit terminal to 47th Street, the city encountered widespread criticism from businesses on that street. Parents who drop off their children with special needs to Children’s Services Centre were among those who felt they would be affected by the street closure.

“This option is expected to have the least impact to the transit schedule,” says the report.

The public market location would also need $600,000 of significant upgrades. The report further said the site would cause some significant delays to the transit schedule during peak hours for buses accessing 48th Avenue.

The public market, which runs on Saturdays from the end of May to mid-October, would also be hampered by the loss of parking, says the report.

The current terminal will close at 49th Avenue so the $21.3-million parkade can be built above. Construction is expected to run from this June to March 2010.

ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com