Published Monday July 13th, 2009
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By CHRIS FOX
fox.chris@dailygleaner.com
http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/front/article/726937

Julie Michaud says the city should reject a rezoning application allowing the Acadian Coach Lines bus terminal to relocate to Woodside Lane.

Michaud, the climate action co-ordinator for the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, was among a group of about 10 volunteers at the Boyce Farmers’ Market on Saturday handing out pamphlets that said the move doesn’t make environmental sense.

The volunteers were drumming up support for a rally planned for 6:30 p.m. tonight outside city hall.

“We are in an era when we really need to be reducing our greenhouse gases, and public transit has to be an important part of that,” she said. “This just doesn’t make sense. It affects people trying to reduce their carbon footprint, downtown business owners who rely on bus service for inexpensive and fast shipping, students, those on a low income – everybody.”

Michaud will speak at the rally, as will representatives from St. Thomas University, the University of New Brunswick and Melinda Jarrett, a downtown business owner.

It’s being held in advance of a 7:30 p.m. council meeting to vote on the Acadian Coach Lines rezoning application.

“We are hoping to get a good show of support and we really want to encourage city council to make the right decision,” said Michaud.

“Everybody thinks this idea to move the terminal to Woodside Lane – six kilometres from the downtown – is a preposterous idea and nobody seems to be able to understand why city council would allow the terminal to move to that property.”

Matthew Tracey, one of the volunteers at the Boyce Farmers’ Market on Saturday, said he’s confident the rally will be well attended.

“We have been getting a really positive response,” he said.

“People are equally outraged as we are, people are very supportive and I don’t think I have heard anyone today that has been in favour of this move. It’s across all brackets, too.”

Officials from the conservation council plan to present city council with an updated petition tonight after adding a couple hundred signatures Saturday.

The petition calls on city council to reject the rezoning application because of the importance of the bus station to the downtown core and the negative environmental impact its relocation could have.

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By JULIE MICHAUD
For The Daily Gleaner

The bus station needs to remain downtown, not move six kilometres away to Woodside Lane.

Downtown is the place to be: The acadian Coach lines terminal located downtown has proposed a move to Woodside lane off hanwell road, although not everyone is happy with that proposal. Guest columnist Julie Michaud cites many reasons why the bus station should remain downtown, including easy access, the ability of downtown businesses to use the bus lines as an economical means of parcel shipping, and the fact that bus users with a wait in Fredericton patronize downtown businesses.

In an attempt to placate a disgruntled audience at the recent hearing of objections to the Acadian Coach Lines re-zoning application to move its terminal to Woodside Lane, Mayor Brad Woodside said the city was in discussions with the company and the University of New Brunswick to develop a solution that would address some, if not all, of the concerns regarding the proposed move.

This indicates the city is arranging for a limited service stop at the Student Union Building on campus. It should be noted that none of the stakeholders has asked for this, which is not surprising because it will address none of their concerns.

In a city with a student population of 12,000, a stop on campus might, at first glance, seem to be an adequate solution, but students are not the only ones who want to keep the terminal downtown.

There are the homeowners on Serenity Lane (near Woodside Lane); downtown business owners; low-income earners; those who cannot drive; and those wishing to reduce their carbon footprint.

Indeed, homeowners on Serenity Lane believed until recently that they were secure in their quiet, residentially zoned neighbourhood.

Now they face the prospect of having buses rumbling near their peaceful lane several times a day – a move that would, incidentally, require significant financial investment from the city to upgrade lighting, road and sidewalk infrastructure to accommodate buses and bus travellers.

In addition, downtown business owners rely on the bus terminal for quick, convenient and affordable shipping. With this city’s ever-expanding share of big box stores that devour local businesses in one bite, shouldn’t our small, locally owned and locally investing businesses have access to all the advantages they can get?

On an environmental level, there’s something inherently backward in this plan to make public transportation costlier and less convenient (campus really isn’t convenient for anyone other than students who live on campus) – especially by a city that aims to be the first Canadian city to reach Kyoto targets.

While many jurisdictions around the world have implemented carbon taxes in order to actively discourage the use of fossil fuels, this decision that will increase the cost and inconvenience of using public transportation effectively amounts to a tax on those who are making decisions to reduce their carbon footprint.

It’s also a tax on those whose budgets are already stretched thin, and a tax on those who are not able to drive due to physical disabilities.

As for bus passengers who are just passing through, connecting routes are often interrupted by a wait at the terminal of an hour or two.

There’s no doubt that waiting in our downtown core would be infinitely more enjoyable for bus passengers (potential future tourists, if we play our cards right) than a purgatorial stopover on an unfamiliar university campus.

Students who live in the downtown (and there are many) will be left to fend for themselves, and since most students living in residence leave in the summer, it is likely that Acadian Coach Lines would eventually deem a campus stop unprofitable and decide to scrap it altogether.

To those who maintain that city council has no business getting involved in the affairs of private business, I offer that regulating business activities is precisely what governments can and must do. If it were not so, we could have industrial operations next to elementary schools and landfills next to residential areas.

A stop on campus is not enough. The city must make arrangements to keep the bus terminal downtown.

It needn’t toil in this effort alone, however. The provincial government has committed to double the share of public transportation by 2020; and our MP, Keith Ashfield, signed the petition in support of keeping the terminal downtown.

With so many people (and levels of government) in favour of keeping the bus terminal off Woodside Lane and in the downtown core, there’s just no reason why our mayor and council can’t make a decision that will allow this to happen.

City council will vote on the rezoning application at 7:30 on Monday, July 13. The Fredericton chapter of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick will hold a rally with music and speeches beginning at 6:30 in front of city hall before the vote.

Julie Michaud is the climate action co-ordinator with the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.

The Daily Gleaner

Published Saturday, July 4, 2009

Re: Editorial published June 19 called The bus stops here

Your recent editorial misrepresents both the role of municipal governments and the facts of the Acadian Bus Line move.

Municipal governments are responsible for land use planning.

Surely, the unnamed author is familiar with the function and practice of zoning. It is Acadian which is asking the city to re-zone the proposed Woodside Lane location. Rather than “meddling” or interfering, the city is doing its job.

Contrary to the editorial’s suggestion, a broad base of citizens are involved in the Keep it Downtown campaign.

In just over two weeks, 1,200 people signed a petition asking city council to intervene in the move.

The residents of the area surrounding Woodside Lane, Downtown Fredericton Incorporated, the Fredericton Anti-Poverty Organization, and both the UNB and STU student unions, have spoken out against the move.

Mayor Woodside has suggested that he is working out a solution that will address some of the concerns that have been raised.

He should be sure that the citizens of Fredericton will not accept any half-measures involving limited service stops downtown or on campus.

These stops will not adequately address any of the concerns raised but they will create new problems.

Passengers will not have shelter or locker services and they will have no way of knowing when their buses are going to be late, which they frequently are.

In the winter months they are often two hours late because they must wait for connections from P.E.I.

Does Woodside expect people to wait at these stops for hours in the winter?

Council may opt out of a lot of problems with reactionary half-measure solutions but on this issue they should be sure that their constituents will not settle for anything less than a downtown bus station.

Alex Murphy

Fredericton

The Daily Gleaner
published Monday, June 30th, 2009

Re: Bus station relocation

I went to the University of New Brunswick for three years and lived downtown.

I did extensive travelling using Acadian Coach Lines, to the point where I was probably away every other weekend visiting other Maritime locations. I relied heavily on the bus as my main method of transportation, feet aside.

That said, I always walked to the bus station. I was so pleased that it was in such a convenient location. It literally took me five minutes to reach the station from my home on George Street.

Considering the concentration of students who live in the downtown area who would be using the bus in similar circumstances, it makes sense to make it accessible to this clientele.

I think if you were to survey bus users, you’d be sure to find that the majority of users live downtown (or on campus) and are most likely in the 17-30 age range.

Now I live in Sackville and I often return to Fredericton to visit my family. More often than not, I get in on the 7:15 p.m. Friday night bus and will meet people at a restaurant downtown, or head straight to a nearby friend’s house on foot.

I do hope that Acadian Coach Lines does everything it can to keep the bus station downtown and I hope that it is aided in this effort by the city and other businesses.

Theresa Richards
Sackville, N.B.

The Daily Gleaner
published Saturday, June 27, 2009

Re: Regulating actions of private businesses

It is not only the right of the City of Fredericton and all municipal governments to limit, regulate and prohibit the actions of private businesses within the city limits, it is their duty.

This is why we do not have oil refineries in the heart of downtown. This is why we do not have nickel smelters next to nursing homes and daycare centres. This is what makes a city livable.

The idea expressed in The Daily Gleaner editorial that municipal governments do not play a role in deciding what private businesses can and cannot do is just plain wrong. The evidence is all around us.

From coast to coast in this country bus terminals are centrally located.

This is not due to chance or the fact that running a bus station in Saskatoon is more profitable.

It is because municipal governments have stepped in and decided that inter-city bus service should be accessible and centrally located. In the exact same way we would expect and demand that city council deny the right of a private business to locate an oil refinery right downtown, we should expect and demand that city council deny the right of a bus terminal to move out of town.

Dave Steele
Fredericton

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By JOSH O’KANE
For The Daily Gleaner

Sound research is best compiled through the scientific method.

In short, you come up with a hypothesis, get your facts or numbers and you figure out whether or not your hypothesis was supported. From there, a conclusion can be generated.

Acadian Coach Lines has that order mixed up – they’ve drawn conclusions about their customer base before doing their research.

Being able to walk to the Acadian bus depot at its central downtown location is one of the primary arguments for keeping it there, but instead of providing a sound argument against it, Acadian has provided a chronologically impossible excuse.

“Most people are not walking to the bus station,” said Manon Piche in the Daily Gleaner on June 19.

She’s the vice-president of marketing, sales and strategic development for Acadian’s parent company, Group Orléans Express.

“The people who come are dropped off by taxi, or by family or friends,” she continued.

That’s quite the assertion, but looked at more closely, Piche may have spoken too soon.

Prior to writing this column, I had very serious doubt that Acadian has polled its Fredericton customers about their method of transport to and from its downtown terminal.

Such a poll seemed unfeasible at the time, as, despite the fact that I am a frequent user of Acadian Coach Lines, I had never been asked how I got to the Fredericton depot when I purchased tickets.

A Sunday evening conversation with a ticket vendor led to the discovery that Acadian has, in fact, been polling customers about their method of transportation – since this past Friday.

That’s the same day Piche’s comments were printed asserting that the company was sure its customers rarely walked to the station.

The company elicited a conclusion prior to collecting its data, which is not only a chronological impossibility, but also a disappointing justification for the move itself.

The impossible conclusion, after all, supports the Fredericton depot’s move to Woodside Lane.

The bus line is using the argument that few customers walk to the depot as justification to move the Fredericton depot from its downtown location.

But the justification is poor, adding a degree of suspicion to the other publicly stated reason for the move: the current station is too big for their needs.

Much like their large student customer base downtown and on the College Hill, it seems like Acadian’s real worry is the cost of rent, as the size of the station is apparently an issue on top of location.

Money drives everything, but you need customers to earn money in the first place. And when operating a service-oriented business, it’s crucial to think of the needs of your customers.

Basic reasoning allows one to determine that the primary customers of an inter-city bus system would be persons who lack a vehicle.

Wouldn’t it be good customer service to have a bus depot be within walking distance of a large customer base?

Yes, buses run to the proposed Woodside Lane location, but they don’t converge there like downtown.

With the proposed location, someone from Forest Hill or the north side might have to catch one Fredericton Transit bus downtown, wait to transfer, catch another bus, and then wait for an Acadian Coach Lines bus to arrive that would go to their desired destination.

This means a move to Woodside Lane could add another hour or two of travel for those persons who can’t afford to take a taxi.

Is that a smart move for a company whose reason for existing is to serve persons who need to travel but can’t afford a vehicle?

Proponents of the move to Woodside Lane have argued that opponents are relying too strongly on asking the city to convince a private business to do something for them.

It’s not the city’s job to step in.

But it is the job of a business in a customer-driven industry to consider the needs of its customers.

Apparently, Acadian Coach Lines would rather make unresearched assertions than consider customer needs.

Josh O’Kane is the former editor-in-chief of the University of New Brunswick Fredericton’s student newspaper, the Brunswickan. He is currently national bureau chief with the Canadian University Press.

Tempers flare | Mayor says meetings happen behind the scenes

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By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

A torrent of opposition hit city council Monday night as students and environmentalists said the city has an obligation to try to offer incentives or help negotiate a deal to keep Acadian Coach Lines downtown.

The city gave first and second reading to the zoning change that will permit Acadian Coach Lines to move its downtown bus depot to 150 Woodside Lane, off Hanwell Road.

But that’s standard procedure for councillors who reflect on public comments before third and final reading in two weeks.

“I walk to the bus station,” said St. Thomas University student Ella Henry, as a crowded council chamber erupted in applause. “I strongly urge you to keep the bus station downtown.”

Henry said it would cost students an extra $4 to take a taxi – or about $10 in total – to make the trip from downtown to Woodside Lane.

“When you’re on a student budget, that can be a significant amount of money round-trip several times a year,” Henry said.

Dave Steele is the law student representative on the University of New Brunswick Student Union. He took a hard-line approach in his presentation, arguing it’s the city’s role to halt the bus depot’s departure from downtown.

“This is a political decision and the buck stops here,” Steele said. “I don’t want to hear that this is a private business and we can’t do anything about it.”

He said it’s council’s right and duty to ensure that the bus depot’s new location best suits the needs of the citizens of Fredericton.

“This is what you’ve been elected to do. This is your job,” Steele said. “This issue is not just going to be forgotten either. Don’t think you’re insulated by three years until your re-election campaign … This will give your opponents the ammo needed to obliterate you in the polls.”

As Steele’s jabs at city council drew shouts and cheers from the public gallery, Mayor Brad Woodside got testy.

“Let’s be respectful. We want to listen to your comments,” said the mayor before abruptly calling a 15-minute break.

Anti-poverty advocate Dan Weston accused councillors of representing middle- to upper-middle-class values and not being concerned about the city’s low-income population, which relies on accessible public transportation.

Meantime, the Fredericton chapter of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick presented a 1,200-name petition calling for the bus station to stay put.

Woodside said city council hasn’t been ignoring public concerns. He hinted that as a result of meetings he has had with Acadian Coach Lines officials and university officials, there may be good news ahead.

“We cannot make announcements this evening. It’s not our place to do so, but I do want the public to know that we’re not sitting idly by on any issue and usually things happen behind the scenes and that is the case here,” Woodside said.

“Prior to third reading, I’m sure Acadian Bus Lines and the universities are going to have comments to make and things to say that will be addressing some of the points, if not a lot of the points here this evening.”

Acadian was given notice to vacate its rented facilities at 101 Regent St. by its landlord, Commercial Properties Ltd.

A spokeswoman for the bus company told the planning advisory committee that it would prefer to stay downtown, but couldn’t find an appropriate location.

Instead, the bus line approached United Rentals about subleasing space in its offices on Woodside Lane for a waiting area, ticket counter, courier and package delivery business.

Commercial Properties Ltd. has since relented, although it’s unclear what the financial terms of the lease renewal would be.

Meanwhile, residents of Red Maple Court and Serenity Lane don’t want a bus depot as a neighbour. They brought their own petition forward, expressing concern about speed, traffic, wear and tear on a residential street and deterioration of the stable character of their community.

Acadian Coach Lines is owned by Group Orleans Express of Quebec.