Ontario Construction News staff writer
The City of Guelph has officially started work on a new transit and fleet services facility, which is set to be finished by 2030.
Backed by $77 million from the Public Transit Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP), this facility will provide essential infrastructure for storing, charging, and maintaining the city’s electric buses and other fleet vehicles.
PCL Constructors has been chosen to handle the construction, with Stantec serving as the main consultant and Strasman Architects taking on the architectural design.
“Investing in public transit is key to building strong, connected and sustainable communities. We’re improving the capacity of transit systems to ensure people can safely and reliably get where they need to go,” said Dominique O’Rourke, Member of Parliament for Guelph. “Building a modern transit facility in Guelph creates the capacity required to increase the size and sustainability of the Guelph Transit fleet and serve generations to come.”
The city council gave formal approval for this project during the 2024 municipal budget process, which initially had a total cost of $323 million. However, that figure was nearly halved before finalizing the city’s spending plan.
A report from June indicated that the facility’s size was cut down from 40,000 sq. metres to 26,277 sq. metres.
“To reduce total project cost, the design was modified by reducing the footprint but adopting a modular approach so expansion can be accommodated for future growth,” the report states. “Although this supports present day affordability constraints, there is a loss of economies of scale as the Guelph design moves from the ‘full build’ to the ‘reduced footprint.’”
The GTFS facility under construction features a road network designed for vehicle circulation in a counterclockwise direction aimed at enhancing driver safety and efficiency along with a vehicle staging area located at the north end for fleet maintenance.
Stormwater facilities along with an infiltration gallery will be integrated on-site to manage precipitation runoff from both buildings and paved areas surrounding it. A signalized intersection will also be added at the main driveway to help control traffic flows. Additionally, plans include a new public parking area along with future access points connecting to hiking trails on former Ontario Reformatory lands near Eramosa River.
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