Well, it seems you can fight City Hall after all. And BC Transit.
A group of local seniors decided they weren’t going to take changes to their bus service sitting down and launched a petition to force the return of a bus stop to 14th Avenue downtown so that seniors living in a cluster of nearby seniors residences don’t have to walk the few blocks to Dogwood Street in order to catch a bus to the hospital. Seniors, of course, make greater use of the hospital than younger folks and many use the bus to get there. Many of them have mobility challenges and it seemed illogical to remove the bus stop that was more accessible.
Another lack of logic greeted them on the other end of their trip, too, as the bus stop for the hospital was on Second Avenue, the equivalent of a couple of blocks away from the front door of the hospital. Again, a challenge for people with mobility issues.
Well, the petition had an impact and Campbell River Transit will be implementing the change to the bus stop as requested. Unfortunately, it won’t be until April but better than nothing. As for the unloading stop near the hospital, a commitment has been made to change that as well but a timeline for that is being worked on.
Congratulations to all involved in making the necessary changes.
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