BRT routes 'unbundled' in bid for millions in senior government money

In a bid to help secure millions in transit funding from senior governments, city staff have broken out the components of London's proposed Bus Rapid Transit Plan (BRT) into individual routes, even taking the step of giving each route a new name.

The move to "unbundle" BRT comes as staff released a list Wednesday of 19 local transit projects that will form a menu for council to select from. The selections will be part of a city application for $375 million in funding from the provincial and federal governments. 

The project list includes all key components of the BRT plan, which calls for buses to run in dedicated traffic lanes in four corridors extending from the core, plus a loop that surrounds Dundas Street downtown.

They are: 

• The Downtown Loop ($28 milllion, formerly known as the King St./Queens Avenue couplet)
• The Wellington Road Gateway ($131.8 million).
• East London Link ($120.2 million).
• North Connection ($147.3 million).
• West Connection ($72.2 million). 

Plans for these corridors are unchanged from the original BRT plan. They still call for buses to operate in lanes separated from general traffic. 

The list put forward by staff also includes "transit supportive" projects outside of BRT, including: 

• Adelaide Street underpass $18.9 million (this is a $58-million project council approved in August).
• Oxford Street / Wharncliffe Road improvements ($17.8 million).
• Active transit improvements across transit route bridges ($31.4 million). 
• Cycling routes connecting to downtown transit ($7.7 million).
• Cycling routes connecting to transit throughout the city ($38.7 million).

Londoners will get a chance to weigh in at a public participation meeting set for 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20, at Centennial Hall. After that, staff will issue a report to be considered at the March 25 strategic priorities and policy committee meeting. The project list is scheduled to receive final approval at the March 26 council meeting.

It's a tight deadline, but staff and council will strive to get the submissions filed by March 31 to ensure they aren't interrupted by the federal election in October. 

BRT was formally put forward as a citywide system with a $500-million pricetag. $130 million of that would be paid for by the city, with the rest coming from the provincial and federal governments. 

The original BRT routes were approved by the last council. But the entire plan doesn't appear to have enough support to pass a vote of the city council elected in October. 

More choice, mayor says

Mayor Ed Holder said Wednesday breaking BRT into its four main routes gives council, and the public, more choice about London's transit future. 

"What I was not comfortable with from the very beginning was 'BRT, take it or leave it,'" said Holder.

"What we now have are a number of choices, several in fact, as it relates to the different components of BRT ... and another dozen or so projects that we've put on the table. I'm absolutely confident there are things here that I can support."

Holder wouldn't say which projects on the list he's ready to back now, saying he wants to wait to hear from the public and other members of council. He issued a statement Wednesday calling for members of the council and the public to "remain open-minded" about the list and "use our eyes and ears before our mouths" when considering them. 

To be eligible for the money from senior governments, the projects have to improve the capacity, quality or safety of public transit.