Riders offer final input on Sudbury Transit action plan

This week Sudbury residents got an up-close look at the city's proposed action plan for transit service. It could change how transit routes and hubs in Greater Sudbury are structured.

At one of the last public input sessions, held at Laurentian University, Sudbury Transit director Michelle Ferrigan explained the new plan would include three bus hubs throughout the city.

In addition to the one downtown, Ferrigan said the plan is to add a hub in the north end at the New Sudbury shopping centre, and one in the south end.

"Now we'll have routes that will feed into the hubs," she said.

Lesser-used routes within local areas would be rescheduled to better meet demand, but would always connect to one of the three major hubs, Ferrigan explained.

The most frequent routes would see buses arrive every 15 minutes during peak times.

The hope is that the Sudbury Transit Action Plan will help the city offer better service to outlying and suburban areas.

Welcome news

That came as welcome news to Natalie Hayden, a resident of the Walden-Lively area.

"We have a daughter that works out at the shopping centre in New Sudbury, so if she's closing up for the day, if she gets downtown after 9:30 at night, there's no further service until 11:30," Hayden said.

She added the changes may affect her own lifestyle as well.

"We don't have bus service early enough in Walden-Lively to get me to my workplace on time every day. So for now I'm still driving, but if they were to improve that service in the morning by having an early bus, I might consider taking the bus," Hayden noted.

University student Chris Delongchamp rides the bus every day of the week — except on Sunday, when he says the services are well below par.

He said he's discouraged from visiting friends in outlying areas such as Valley East, because he knows it could be a challenge to get back to Sudbury later in the day.

However, Delongchamp said all his concerns seemed to be addressed in the new plan.

"I'm interested to see which direction it takes from here because they're still waiting for more input, but I'm liking it so far," Delongchamp said.

Council to vote on plan this spring

The city is also considering adding bike racks to its entire transit fleet. Other plans being examined include increasing fares, offering greater rebates for frequent riders and longer transfer times.

The city notes residents have until Feb. 27 to complete a transit survey and submit comments on its website.

The Greater Sudbury Transit Action Plan is slated to come to council for final approval in April.

Ferrigan didn't have a timeline for when different parts of the plan may be implemented.

"When we get back to council in the spring, definitely we'll have a better idea of how we'll be implementing this. Most likely, it will be certain aspects implemented before others. It won't be done all in one time," Ferrigan said.