A permanent downtown market as well as increased transit service at the Allandale Waterfront GO station are on city council’s plate, Monday night.
Councillors are looking at moving some Barrie Transit services, such as ticketing, from the Maple Avenue terminal, which opened in 1991, to a new location adjacent to the Allandale Waterfront GO station on Essa Road.
The downtown terminal would then be renovated and used as a year-round downtown public market followed by construction of a new farmers’ market pavilion.
At last week’s general committee meeting, councillors approved the design for both projects. The funding for the market project is already approved in the capital plan and the transit-hub funding application will go to the federal and provincial governments.
There are some concerns about what the Allandale transit hub could mean for the historic area of the city.
Allandale Neighbourhood Association member Cathy Colebatch says she wishes there had been more discussion around the council table last week.
“I was shocked that something as important as this public project would pass on consent,” Colebatch said of the items that came up at last week’s committee meeting, meaning there was no discussion around either project before the motions head back to city council for possible ratification Monday night.
Colebatch says she will make a pair of deputations - on the terminal market plan as well as the Allandale transit hub - at Monday’s city council meeting where the items could receive final approval.
Colebatch said she thinks the plan for the Allandale transit hub is short-sighted and fails to fully take into account all-day GO service and intensification coming to the neighbourhood.
“This council doesn’t have to worry about that, and probably not the next one, either,” she said, adding problems may not arise until several years down the road as the area continues to grow.
Colebatch said she doesn’t want to see more land “eaten up” around Allandale Station, which is sitting dormant pending the completion of an archealogical assessment.
“They seem to just keep picking away at that land,” she said.
However, Mayor Jeff Lehman said he thinks moving some buses and services to the Allandale area will help.
“By eliminating the entrance on Essa Road, I think this project will actually help traffic,” he said. “Most of our routes already go to Allandale, so there will only be nine more buses per hour, which will have a minimal impact on traffic.
“We will soon have all-day GO service in Barrie and increasing transit connections to Allandale will increase accessibility,” Lehman added. “I think the heritage design of the building right on Essa Road can also be a part of revitalizing the old Allandale ‘main street’ in the area of Essa and Tiffin. It will be a benefit to riders as an increasing number of people use the station.”
A traffic study was conducted in February during an eight-hour period for a “typical weekday” and a four-hour window for weekend conditions, but Colebatch the timing of the study doesn’t reflect additional traffic - both vehicular and pedestrian - that would be present in the area during busier times of year, such as the summer.
Meanwhile, the market idea could spruce up that area of downtown.
“The market could be a major new tourist attraction that will link the waterfront to downtown Barrie, as well as be a new destination for specialty foods for Barrie residents,” Lehman said. “I think it would be a very positive addition to the west end of our downtown and continue the momentum that is building by increasing private investment in the area.”
Lehman says people seem to be on board with the market plan.
“I hear so many people who are excited about this project and the impact it can have on our downtown,” he said. “They see it as a new food option and a welcome investment in strengthening the west end of downtown.”
The city hired a consultant to study the feasibility of shifting the main Barrie Transit Terminal from downtown to an expanded facility adjacent to the Allandale Waterfront GO Station.
Rail service returned to Allandale Station in 2012 represented the beginning of the rejuvenation of area’s historic role in Ontario’s transportation network, according to WSP’s 295-page report entitled ‘Allandale Mobility Hub Study’.
“The start of electrified two-way, all-day service in 2024 will continue this progress by providing a fast, frequent and reliable rapid transit connection to the rest of the Greater Golden Horseshoe,” the report adds.
With its proximity to Barrie’s rapidly growing south end and designation by the province as an urban growth centre, Allandale is also well-suited to serve as a central transportation hub for the city, the report says.
“An expanded central bus terminal at Allandale Station builds on previous and planned strategic investments to advance the community’s evolution into a modern intermodal and inter-regional mobility hub,” the report states.
The relocation of the transit facility creates space in the downtown for a new farmers’ market and event space while consolidating the transit hub function at the GO rail station to coincide with the arrival of all-day rail service, the report states. Reducing the footprint of the downtown transit facility, while maintaining high service levels, also furthers the city’s objectives for downtown revitalization.
Investing in transportation and public amenities in the Allandale area advances the city’s preparation for intensification and development in the area in the future. The new terminal further advances transportation plans to co-ordinate local and regional transit services with seamless connections.
