Blair station 'nightmare' fix approved now it needs money

The main problem at the Blair LRT station occursduring the afternoon rush hour as east-end residents try to transfer to buses to get home.

After getting off the LRTat its eastern end, throngs of commuters scurry down one flightof stairs to catch their buses on a narrow platform, often pushed into theshelters that dot the platform or choosing to venture onto the roadway as they jostle to get on a bus.

Orlans resident Elia Villamayorsaidshe has bumped into people going in the opposite direction and will try to walk behind the shelters where there is a half-metre gap but it's a tight squeeze.

"It's a little slow going when it's busy," she said.

OC Transpo has stationed supervisorsin fluorescent yellow jackets at Blair to try to maintain safety and stop people from venturing onto the road where the buses drop off and pick up.

Changes are coming in mid-Aprilwith the new spring schedule.

Pat Scrimgeour, OC Transpo'sdirector of transit customer systems and planning, saidbusstops will be reconfigured at Blair to group people travelling in the same direction.

Orlans Coun.Matthew Luloff says it will bring order to a chaotic transfer point.

"It's been a complete nightmare," he said.

"Splitting the traffic on the way out the door [means] people that are going to the west and to the north of Orlans will go left and everybody else will go right. It will make a massive, massive difference."

Removing shelters

OC Transpoalso has plans toincrease space on the platform by removing the shelters and replacing them with along canopyand wind barriers.

Money for theproposed canopies has yet to be earmarked.

Management islooking at a new set of stairs on the other end of the station to disperse commuters as they exit the LRT.

Meanwhile, Beacon Hill-CyrvilleCoun.Tim Tierneyis pushing for anew pairof elevators on the north side of Blair station.

There is only one elevator on the north platform and it was installedwhen the transit station first opened in 1989.

Tierney said the "rinky-dink" elevator often breaks down andwhen it doesn't work, OC Transpohas to call in a bus to takepeople who can't easily take the stairs to the south platform to board the LRTand back again.

The distance between the two platforms is about thirty metres.

"Adding in abrand new elevator[means] when one breaks down you'll still have a second one," said Tierney.

"There's a lot of opportunity there. It's going to change how that station operates and with the amount of volume there right now, franklyit's required. I want to see it come sooner rather than later."

Building a new set of elevators will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. OC Transposaid it hopes to get the money fromthe city'sinfrastructure budget, but that spending has to be approved by city council.

Tierney saidhe's confident council will vote infavour of the elevators and new canopy, but it could bemonths before the improvementsare made.