Video: Major bus rapid transit route just as important as huge LRT projects in Mississauga: Transport minister
Published June 26, 2023 at 3:52 pm
A major bus rapid transit (BRT) route that will run nearly 50 kilometres along Dundas St. through Mississauga and several other municipalities is every bit as crucial to the city’s future as two huge light-rail transit (LRT) projects are, Canada’s transport minister says.
While the Hazel McCallion Line and Eglinton Crosstown West Extension (ECWE) LRT projects grab the majority of headlines, Federal Transport Minister and Mississauga Centre MP Omar Alghabra told insauga.com on Friday that the Dundas BRT will be a significant part of the transformation of Mississauga.
The Liberal MP, who spoke to insauga.com by phone, quickly dismissed any notion that the Dundas St. transit project takes a back seat to the LRT initiatives.
Alghabra said millions of commuters in Mississauga and places west of Canada’s seventh-largest city will benefit from the Dundas BRT once it’s up and running some years down the road (see video below).
When completed, the 48-kilometre express bus route will cut an east-west path from the Kipling Transit Hub in Toronto to Hwy. 6 in Hamilton, by way of Mississauga and Halton.
It will run for 17 kilometres through Mississauga, including the Mississauga East portion of the route that runs seven kilometres from Etobicoke Creek in the east to Confederation Pkwy. in the west. That latter part of the route received approval from the Ontario government last year.
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The project calls for about 20 kilometres of the route to be a bus-only lane or dedicated right-of-way, separate from other traffic.
Metrolinx, the provincial agency overseeing the Dundas BRT project and working with the City of Mississauga to complete it, released an Environmental Project Report (EPR) on the Mississauga East segment of the line early in 2022.
It contained an assessment of where that part of the project (Etobicoke Creek to Confederation Pkwy.) stood at that time, and what it may look like upon completion.
There are three other segments to the massive project: Mississauga West (Confederation Pkwy. west to Ninth Line), Toronto (Kipling Transit Hub to Etobicoke Creek) and Halton/Hamilton (Ninth Line west to Hwy. 6).
Metrolinx officials say public sessions and feedback are crucial to the project “because they often help to shape the end product. Some of the concerns revealed during community consultation particular to the Dundas BRT included potential for reductions in lane widths, how left- and U-turn lanes might be changed, traffic congestion, crosswalk and station platform safety for pedestrians and drivers, and impacts to property.”
Mississauga officials said earlier that the huge BRT project “will have an impact on the look, feel and operation of Dundas St. in the future.”
Metrolinx says the design will allow for “faster and more reliable transit connections” across the region.
They said earlier that the Dundas BRT, first introduced to residents and businesses in April 2021, will fill a significant transportation void in Mississauga and beyond.
“Right now, there’s no continuous east-west transit service along Dundas St., which impacts connectivity and accessibility for residents, workers and commuters,” Metrolinx officials said earlier.
According to Metrolinx, the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area welcomes some 110,000 new residents each year and it’s expected to be home to more than 10 million people by 2041.
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