A safer, more convenient bus terminal at Hamilton’s CF Lime Ridge is set to be constructed next year.
In September 2019, the province approved Hamilton’s request to allocate the remaining Move Ontario Quick Wins Funding for the reconstruction of the CF Lime Ridge Mall Transit terminal. Since then, the Hamilton Street Railway has been working with the Cadillac Fairview Corporation to develop a new terminal location within the mall campus.
The terminal will contain eight bus bays including a shared bay for accessible transit, transit shelters — two options are being presented to the public, one with a standard shelter canopy and the other with an extended canopy — benches, bike racks, a PRESTO machine, an operator comfort station, public WiFi, wayfinding, shade trees and security cameras.
“We want to engage with the public and transit customers alike to create a renewed space that welcomes and encourages people to try transit. It will offer protection from the elements in the waiting area. The terminal will have bays for both conventional and specialized service for easy transfers as we consider future service integration opportunities,” said Maureen Cosyn Heath, City of Hamilton director of transit.
A direct sidewalk link will be provided from the terminal to the mall entrance at Starbucks. Transit signal priority will be introduced at the south signal to the mall for southbound buses and a transit-only driveway for northbound buses will be introduced on Upper Wentworth Street.
The Lime Ridge Mall Transit Terminal is a major transit hub within the Hamilton Street Railway network. An example of the need for improvement is that currently, some riders have to cross four traffic lanes to make transfer connections.
With the new terminal design, customers will no longer need to cross the road to transfer between buses as the buses will park on either side of the dedicated bus terminal area. Buses will enter and exit the terminal via bus-only access roads from Upper Wentworth Street and Limeridge Road.
“The terminal at CF Lime Ridge will be a primary hub in the redesigned transit network, so our goal is to make sure current and prospective customers feel heard throughout the engagement process. We want to create a terminal that Hamiltonians can be proud of and that inspires people to try transit,” said Cosyn Heath.
The existing terminal opened in 1997 and is now reaching the end if its lifespan. It has two parallel bus platforms and serves five transit routes that are separated by a four-lane interior ring road in the middle of the mall parking lot. As it is now, buses are required to travel in mixed mall traffic, which can cause unpredictable schedule adherence during peak hours and peak seasons.
Currently, the project is at the 50 per cent design stage, which will be finalized by Arcadis IBI Group by fall 2024. The request for construction tender will be issued towards the end of 2024, with the contract awarded in early 2025. Construction will begin in Q2 2025 with a construction completion target of Q4 2025 or Q1 2026.
The remaining Move Ontario Quick Wins Funding is approximately $2.8 million and the city will pay the balance, which will be determined once the detailed design is complete in early 2025.
A request for prequalification for a general contractor was issued in April and it closed mid-May. The city is currently evaluating the submissions.
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