Public transit was a hot topic at the Feb. 2 Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) infrastructure services committee.
A variety of improvements were discussed including more research into a Pender Harbour bus route, priorities for bus shelter installations and the possibility of increasing service hours.
A $100 feasibility study was recommended by staff to gain insight into the potential of a new bus route heading into Pender Harbour, but it came with a degree of controversy.
"I keep getting asked to pay and pay and pay for adding routes and subsidizing routes that give my constituency no improvements at all," said West Howe Sound director Lee Turnbull.
"I am going to vote for this recommendation, but boy, I sure hope we get it together soon because I'm tired of watching this thing go round and round, get nowhere and paying for it."
The study is expected to require 14 hours of staff time and $100 in operating expenses. The hope is that it will reveal the feasibility of the new bus route.
"It is, I think, a worthwhile thing to do and to get an idea of the cost," Pender Harbour/Egmont director Frank Mauro said, adding that the funds would come from his region.
"We're interested in doing this brief study and getting some figures and deciding how to move ahead."
New bus shelters
A staff report presented an analysis of usage rates across the transit system and recommended a number of new shelters.
On eastbound routes, staff said the frequency of travellers using the system could warrant shelter installations along Highway 101 at Davis Bay Road, Pratt Road, Redrooffs and North Fletcher or Wyngaert in Gibsons.
Heading westbound, shelters could be built along the highway at Field Road, Selma Park Road, Crucil, Seamount Way and along Gower Point Road at Dougall.
Roberts Creek director Donna Shugar inquired about the possibility of a shelter being constructed in the heart of Roberts Creek and staff replied that an amendment to the recommendations would be made to include that possibility.
Service increases
Staff asked that a discussion on increasing service hours along Coastal routes be deferred to coincide with BC Transit's own planning process in 2012.
The board had previously requested a report on improvement options in time for budget talks.
According to the staff report, BC Transit has proposed to do a service plan for the Sunshine Coast in 2012.
"The plan will include a review of all of the services we currently provide and make recommendations for prioritized improvements," the staff report states.
