A major piece of London's rapid transit route puzzle appears to finally have fallen into place.
Western University's Board of Governors approved a motion Thursday afternoon that will allow the city to run bus rapid transit (BRT) through the university campus.
However, the decision wasn't a slam dunk for the city as the university still has 15 "issues" related to BRT that need to be resolved.
"We consider these to be very serious matters. But on the other hand they're not demands," said Hanny Hassan, board chair. "They've been subject to negotiation already and the transparency that we have with respect to being clear about the matters that need to be addressed to make sure that our campus is safe for our students and that it's pedestrian friendly and that it meets the objective of our long term campus plan are embedded in those items that we have identified that need to be negotiated with the city."
Prior to voting, board member Michael Lerner amended the original motion to change the word "conditions" to "issues." He noted the new term would sound less confrontational and show there is room for compromise.
"It's not an us versus them discussion," said Lerner.
Among the 15 issues that still need to be worked out are Western's desire to only have one BRT route on campus, no more than eight BRT trips on campus per hour, and no future plans to convert to light rail.
The route approved by the board would allow BRT on campus from Richmond St. over the University Dr. Bridge, onto Lambton Dr., through Alumni Circle, to Western Rd., and by Windermere Rd. with a two-way flow.
"This route, as a member of the board alluded to, is a compromise," said Hassan. "In complex projects it's inevitable that there is going to be give and take and people will trade off the things that they want to get what they consider to be essential. The city considered a route through campus essential and we tried to find a way of making that happen."
City council approved the BRT system in May 2016, but did so without knowing whether it would be able to run buses through Western's campus. An alternative plan would have seen students dropped at the main gates of the university.
One of the biggest stumbling blocks has been the university's long term goal of eliminating vehicular traffic through the core of its campus, in order to make it more pedestrian friendly.
Currently, Western students account for the bulk of the ridership on London's public transit.
