Bus stop really just a big snowbank? Ask for a courtesy stop

A solution may have been found for North Bay Transit users to avoid being deposited into a snowbank with their groceries, then facing a game of Frogger to cross a busy road to the nearest sidewalk.

According to the North Bay Transit Standards of Service, Section 8:

8. Courtesy Stops

North Bay Transit thrives to achieve customer service excellence by offering courtesy stops. Upon request, transit operators will stop in a safe manner as closely as possible to a location of the passengers choosing provided the following conditions are met:

• chosen location does not deviate from the existing bus route
• chosen location has sufficient space to safely stop to allow alightment from the bus
• chosen location does not contravene any traffic laws and/or City of North Bay bylaws

Just ask your transit operator to stop in accordance with the above criteria, and he/she will be glad to help. With fewer stops on McKeown, this tip should come in handy for riders.

After all, North Bay Transit's mission statement is to "provide the citizens and visitors of North Bay, a reliable and courteous transportation service in clean, safe, and accessible vehicles, recognizing individual passengers needs and requirements."

There, that should cover getting off the bus.

Meanwhile, getting ON to the bus has been more of a challenge.

After the City of North Bay "temporarily removed" bus stop 1155 on McKeown Avenue from service, BayToday readers expressed their frustrations with the move in our comments section.

The prevailing sentiment was disbelief. Disbelief that the unsafe and inaccessible bus stop was not cleared by the City, especially after transit passengers had voiced their legitimate concerns.

Shannon Jones-Berger wondered in a comment on our message board, "Is it really that difficult to just remove the snow instead??!!!! I saw someone standing on top of the snow bank at the stop Thursday night waiting for the bus and couldn't believe they hadn't cleared it after all the complaints."

Transit riders were left wondering why their identification of a safety and accessibility issue had not only been ignored but had instead resulted in the removal of the stop from the route on a temporary basis. 

Wrote reader Jason Depotier: "Instead of having a front end loader REMOVE the snow, they'd rather REMOVE the STOP? Wow."

The dangerous bus stop had been out of service throughout the Family Day long weekend and transit users were "encouraged to use the stop at Boston Pizza," some 300 metres away.

June Potts commented: "For goodness sake get a shovel and remove the snow, it is a long walk to Boston Pizza."

But readers had also identified stop 1154 (west of stop 1155 near the intersection of McKeown and MacNamara) as being unsafe. With no sidewalk on the south side of McKeown, the area looked as though it has not been plowed once this winter. 

Riders stood in deep snow while they waited for the bus, cars rushing by just a few feet away. Passengers disembarking from transit at this stop have no choice but to run across traffic as there is no safe place to cross.

Patricia Haydon is a McKeown Avenue resident who attends school in the Commerce Court area. Her left leg "is encased in a brace that immobilizes the knee, making it harder for me to walk longer distances (torn ligaments).

"I get the bus to go to school at the stop in front of the Toyota - and that one is no better [than the removed stop]. I can get across the road decently, but trying to get to the bus stop itself is another matter. Climbing up the embankment so I can be safe from the road is quite painful, and walking along the edge of the road is downright dangerous...if something were to happen and I needed to get out of the way I'd be pretty much defenseless, due to being unable to jump and/or move quickly."

Reader Brigitte Brais feels that there should be a "three-way stop at The corner of McNamara and McKeown since there's a bus stop right across the street and it is a family/ college neighbourhood...McKeown being busy like it is it takes forever to cross safely."

Thanks to our readers, BayToday has identified and photographed some more clearly unsafe and inaccessible bus stops around the city (see PHOTO GALLERY above), including stops on Lakeshore Drive and Pinewood Park Drive. 

In the photo taken at the intersection of Lakeshore and Ferris Drive, the snow is so deep and packed that snowmobiles have been using the bank as a trail.

In some of the problem areas, driveways or entrances to businesses provide a haven for transit users to stand in, but some are decent distances away from the actual stops, leaving passengers to wave down transit operators. This also presents safety issues as the driveways and entrances are obviously also used by motorists not expecting people to be standing in them.

If you take the bus, or as a motorist you have noticed perilous situations resulting from unsafe bus stops, post your pics and observations in the comments section below. 

The City also requests that "if there are any concerns regarding transit service that passengers contact North Bay Transit directly at 705-474-0626 ext. 2288."