The repaving project on a section of the parking lot at the Northwest Community College Terrace campus, includes moving a nearby public bus shelter and bus stop onto campus grounds, a move which the college says should improve the safety and security for students and faculty who take transit.
The project involved repaving a large part of the campus parking lot that had become overrun with potholes, and was mainly completed in March, with finishing touches done last week.
Moving the bus shelter to the parking lot area should occur sometime this summer.
“One of the added benefits of this project is that we can now bring the public bus stop and bus shelter onto the campus where there is better lighting,” said college official Heather Bastin. “This should improve security for students and staff who take transit.”
The bus shelter currently sits along McConnell Avenue in front of the college and is separated by a large hedge that hinders visibility.
According to Bastin, relocating the bus shelter will ensure greater safety because the lighting is better on the campus side and the bus stop will be more centrally located.
Bastin also said moving the bus shelter could have the added benefit of giving the campus greater exposure.
“It brings people onto the campus so that maybe even people who don’t come to school here but take the bus on the way by can see what’s happening on campus as well, which is nice,” she said.
The college received $242,000 from the Ministry of Advanced Education for the project in December 2015. The college contributed $8,000 of its own money to the project as well.
Bastin said she wasn’t aware of any specific incidents involving the current bus shelter on McConnell Avenue that led to the decision to relocate it. “It was just observed that this would be a better option for everybody,” she said.