Bridge Transit Terminal
March 9, 2010
Dartmouth Bridge Terminal - Architectural Renderings
The new Bridge Terminal, to replace the much smaller existing waiting area, will be the busiest facility in the entire Metro Transit system, averaging over 17,000 passengers per weekday. As part of Metro Transit's 5 year operational plan, this new terminal is an integral piece to successfully meet the demands of transit's increasing service and passenger base, while responding to HRM's sustainability initiatives.
Furthermore, this location is currently the busiest transfer point for transit passengers using mobility aids, being currently serviced by five accessible routes (ALF), and projected to grow significantly in the coming years.
The new Bridge Terminal will be fully accessible and is forecasted to accommodate 16 bus bays, for both the conventional and articulated buses.
The Dartmouth Common is an historic and valuable area. During the terminal design process, Metro Transit and its partner, Sperry & Partners Ltd, continue to consider designs that reflect and respect the needs and concerns of passengers and residents alike, and integrating the terminal with the surrounding land uses.
Requirements for level bus access routes and to have people safely access an island terminal building will result in the building and bus lanes slightly nestled into the topography - affording the opportunity to create a safe access to the terminal overtop of the bus lanes, while being able to give back green space to the larger community, thus enhancing the existing park path structure and providing greater, and in turn safer, illumination to pedestrians.
The design is currently in the schematic stage, and being reviewed for its responsiveness in meeting both the programmatic requirements, as well as the larger integration issues associated with the commons master plan. A number of modifications have been already made in response to public meeting feedback.
Bridge Terminal Architectural Renderings 
- Building - Overall
- Building View - Early Morning
- Building View - Lower Platform
February 23, 2010
Report to Regional Council recommends adjustments to Bridge Transit Terminal Design Costs as result of Public Consultation recommendations
The original design for HRM's new Metro Transit Bridge Terminal was awarded by the CAO on August 27, 2009 to Sperry & Partners Ltd., the highest scoring proponent, for an amount of $374,413.00. This fee was based on a projected construction budget of $4,468,000.
Public consultation for the new terminal took place on October 5, 2009, at the Public Open House for the Dartmouth Commons Master Plan Presentation.
The key recommendations taken from the Public Open House were as follows:
- The new terminal should have strong and safe, well lit pedestrian connections to both Nantucket Ave. and Thistle St.
- The terminal should appear to be part of the park, with the bus bays built below or into the existing grade, if possible.
- The terminal should be perpendicular, not parallel, to Nantucket Ave.
- The terminal should be an architecturally significant building.
In order to incorporate the public consultation recommendations, a significant increase is required to the scope of work outlined in the original RFP 09-197.
Full report outlining the increase to contract for the Transit Bridge Terminal can be viewed from the link to Council Report
http://www.halifax.ca/council/agendasc/documents/100223ca1013.pdf
Full details may be viewed in attached link to Council Report http://www.halifax.ca/council/agendasc/documents/100126ca1014.pdf
Revised October 2009
Bridge Terminal Expansion Project - Update
Plans are moving ahead for the expansion of Metro Transit’s Bridge Terminal, one of our busiest transfer points, situated adjacent to the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge and Sportsplex in Dartmouth.
As many passengers are aware, the existing terminal can no longer accommodate the growing needs of our service. It currently serves 18 transit routes and over 17,000 passengers daily on a very congested platform area. The grade of the terminal site slope has prevented us to allow all buses to load and unload at the platform; and from making the terminal fully accessible.
This expansion is a crucial “piece of the puzzle” in order to allow Metro Transit to provide increased service throughout all of HRM.
Why expand the existing Bridge Terminal rather than look for a new site?
Suitable alternate sites for the new terminal were considered, but none were determined as acceptable. Our transit terminal requires being near the entrance to the Macdonald Bridge. A potential site on Faulkner Street was considered. However, this site was determined not suitable for a number of reasons including that it would have meant locating a major transit terminal in an established residential area. Another consideration was, being physically set back from Wyse Road, it would have posed more visibility and security concerns at night; the configuration requirements would have resulted in significant delays to buses entering and exiting from the terminal; it would severely impact traffic around the bridge tolls and the Wyse/Nantucket intersection; and would have required Wyse Road to have been widened for a transit priority lane on the west side to allow buses to get back on the bridge. There would also have been a significant additional taxpayer cost to purchase the land.
Why use Common Land for Public Transit?
In November 2008, the Nova Scotia Legislature amended the Municipal Government Act to allow the expansion of the existing bridge terminal onto a maximum 6 acres of the adjacent Dartmouth Commons Land. Currently, Metro Transit does not have plans to use the full 6 acres granted. The new terminal expansion will take up approximately 2 1/2 to 3 acres along Nantucket Avenue, above the existing Bridge Terminal. Work continues with the Dartmouth Commons Master Plan group and public to acknowledge the important use of Common Land for the purpose of improving public transportation.
There is certainly no more efficient, higher volume use of “common land” for the public than to designate it as a transit terminal where many people can access the facility. Over the past year, Metro Transit planners have met with the HRM Harbour East Committee, HRM Areas Councillors and the committee for the Dartmouth Common Master Plan, which involved one public meeting in April '09. Meetings have also been held with the Halifax-Dartmouth Bridge Commission, Dartmouth Sportsplex and Dartmouth High School.
Timelines:
Terminal design is currently underway.
Highlights:
- Efficient terminal layout, designed to significantly decrease delays for buses & passengers accessing the terminal, particularly during peak service hours
- Enhanced safety and security measures
- Fully enclosed, heated/air conditioned terminal waiting area
- Fully accessible to allow for Accessible Low Floor (ALF) Routes and mobility-impaired passengers
- 16 bus bays, eight of which will accommodate articulated buses
- Passenger access to buses from the curb, rather than in active bus lanes
- Environmentally conscious design & construction
- Enhanced active transportation connections to nearby properties
- Attractive landscaping & design
Posted November 26, 2008
Dartmouth Bridge Terminal Expansion Project
The Dartmouth Bridge Terminal is one of Metro Transit's key transfer points, serving as many as 18 routes and over 17,000 passengers per weekday.
Built in 1995, the existing terminal can no longer accommodate the swell in transit demands and therefore, the proposed terminal expansion is a crucial component in order to provide increased transit services in the Dartmouth area.
Several years of work on this project culminated on Monday, November 24, 2008 when the Nova Scotia Legislature amended the Municipal Government Act to allow the expansion of the Bridge Terminal on 6 acres of the Dartmouth Commons land.
The key features of the terminal expansion include:
- Significant expansion to existing terminal
- Expansion similar to the Portland Hills Terminal, but much larger
- Efficient terminal layout, designed to significantly decrease delays for buses & passengers accessing the terminal, particularly during peak service hours
- Will include the following:
- 16 bus bays, eight of which will accommodate articulated buses
- Passengers will access buses from the curb, rather than in active bus lanes
- Significant on-site layover space
- Fully enclosed, heated/air conditioned terminal waiting area
- Fully accessible for mobility-impaired passengers
- Enhanced safety & security measures
- Environmentally conscious design & construction
- Enhanced active transportation connections to nearby properties
- Attractive landscaping & design
Bridge Terminal Rendering
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