Project Details:

The municipality has received provincial funding to begin installing bus shelters to support the County Transit system.

Staff have selected the Bloomfield parking lot at Bloomfield Main Street and Corey Street as the first bus shelter location for a number of reasons. The property is municipally owned, it is located on a main street in a town with great visibility, and Bloomfield is a connecting hub for both the Belleville and western County bus routes.

The municipality wants to leverage the bus shelter installation project to make multiple improvements to the Bloomfield parking lot:

• Installation of the bus shelter near the east entrance
• Re-configuring parking spaces to ensure adequate width of accessible parking spaces, while maintaining existing number of parking spaces
• Repairing the fence and concrete walkway along east side of lot
• Installing electrical service panel to power the bus shelter and to create capacity for future electric vehicle (EV) charging
• Installing three overhead lights for increased parking lot safety

The bus shelter:

• The bus shelter will be a 5′ by 10′ structure on a concrete pad located at the eastern entrance to the parking lot
• The existing barrier curb will be removed to make space for the shelter
• The shelter will meet the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act with sufficient clearance for wheelchair users
• The shelter will be lit using grid power
• The shelter will include a bench and one poster frame for transit/local information

The above image of the Bloomfield parking lot layout, seen from overhead, shows the plans for the lot improvements. The diagram shows the location of the bus shelter in the northeastern corner of the lot where an existing barrier curb will be removed. The new lot design has a total of 22 parking spaces (9′ wide), 3 accessible parking spaces (18′ wide), three new overhead lights positioned along the south end of the lot and along the eastern wall, plus an electrical panel in the southeast corner for future EV charging. 

Electric vehicle charging:

• By 2035, all light-duty cars and trucks sold in Canada must be zero-emission
• The municipality is in early stages of developing a County-wide electric vehicle charging infrastructure plan. It is anticipated that the plan would provide for EV charging stations in public spaces and would support the electrification of the municipal vehicle fleet.
• The Bloomfield Parking Lot improvement project will be future-proofed to support electric vehicle charging. The electrical panel that powers the bus shelter will be powered sufficiently to support future fast charging stations.

Stakeholder consultation:

• In July 2022, County staff met with members of the Bloomfield Area Business Association (BABA) to present the preliminary plans for the project. More information was circulated to BABA businesses by email.
• In August/September 2022, County staff began consultation on accessible design for the bus shelter. Staff presented to the  Accessibility Advisory Committee and received feedback on accessibility considerations.  
• Members of the public and other stakeholders are encouraged to contact Julianne Snepsts, Program Supervisor, to provide feedback on the project if they wish. Contact information is below.