A Nanaimo firm has been chosen to complete the work on the $20-million Uptown Mobility Hub, which is expected to become the region’s principal rapid-bus exchange.
Windley Contracting will start construction this month of Ravine Way transit and active-transportation improvements, including four new bus stops with shelters and dedicated bus lanes.
The project will include improved crosswalks and intersections, and new multi-use pathways to connect to the Galloping Goose Regional Trail.
The project, expected to be complete by late summer, is being funded with $15.5 million from the federal government and $4.5 million from the province.
It’s part of the province’s plan to establish a transit-oriented housing development near Uptown, on two properties the province paid $9.3 million for last year.
The new development will be designed to integrate with the Lochside and Galloping Goose regional trails to make it a hub for active transportation and transit, with connections to downtown Victoria, the University of Victoria, the West Shore and the Saanich Peninsula.
Uptown shopping centre is one of 130 sites in sa国际传媒 that were designated by the Housing Ministry as transit-oriented development areas, as part of the province’s efforts to boost home construction to ease a shortage of lower-cost homes.
Transit-oriented development refers to complete communities with residential, business and leisure space close to public transit, the ministry said.
The goal is to encourage people to use transit rather than relying exclusively on private vehicles.
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