The corner of Henry Road and Trans-Canada Highway, where a commercial development has been proposed, is considered by BC Transit and the Ministry of Transportation and Transit as the best location for a Chemainus bus stop for Route 70 NCX, the Nanaimo-Cowichan Express bus.
Seth Wright, BC Transit's senior manager of government relations, told the Cowichan Valley Regional District’s committee of the whole at its meeting on May 14 that he has had conversations with staff at MOTT and it was generally agreed that the corner of Henry Road and the TCH by the highway’s northbound lane where the commercial development is being proposed, would be the preferred spot for the bus stop.
Wright was responding to comments from North Cowichan director Chris Istace who pointed out that the residents of Chemainus and area have not had any way to connect with the NCX since the route was introduced in 2022.
The successful route, which currently has eight stops between Nanaimo and Duncan, mainly services riders transiting to work and university/college, while many others use the service for leisure, shopping and errands.
BC Transit, the Regional District of Nanaimo and the CVRD are partners in the service, with the RDN operating it.
The route was originally envisioned as an inter-regional service with a limited number of stops to keep it a fast-moving route, but calls for a stop in Chemainus for the NCX began shortly after the route began.
“The fact that Chemainus itself has 5,000 people who can’t connect to this inter-regional service is such a shame,” Istace said.
Wright said that, while the corner of Henry Road and the TCH is the preferred location for the bus stop by MOTT and BC Transit, any decision on the issue must wait until the Municipality of North Cowichan makes a final decision on the proposed commercial development.
The proposed development would consist of a gas station, convenience store, two drive-through restaurants and an as-yet unspecified number of commercial units, and the municipality is currently considering proposed rezoning and official community plan amendments to allow for the project to proceed.
North Cowichan council has given the first two readings to the required bylaw and OCP amendments to allow the project to progress to the next stages of the application process, which includes a public hearing that is expected to be held soon.
“That area is the exact ideal location for the bus stop, and if MOTT supports it, we’d be able to establish a north-bound bus stop on that location and have a service for Chemainus,” Wright said.
“A southbound bus stop would not be an option, but a northbound bus stop has always been the issue.”
Istace said the possibility of a Chemainus bus stop for the NCX will provide some hope for the Chemainus community that they could see a connection with the inter-regional service sometime soon.
“I believe [North Cowichan’s] public hearing is next week [May 19-23] on that property,” he said.
