A decision to suspend O-Train service on weekends between Oct. 12 and Dec. 29 was put off in light of the OC Transpo and Via Rail train collision Sept. 18.
Carleton requested that O-Train service north of Carleton’s station be suspended in order to complete the construction of the parking garage spanning the tracks by parking lots six and seven.
The request, which must be approved by the city’s transit commission, would not end service between Greenboro and Carleton.
If the suspension is allowed, a replacement bus route running between Carleton and Bayview could be created, according to a report recommending the suspension to the transit commission.
Approximately 10 minutes would be added to transit time if the train were closed and the bus route opened, according to the report by the city’s deputy manager of planning and infrastructure.
Carleton has agreed to cover the $138,000 for the replacement bus, the report stated.
Brian Billings, assistant director of university safety, said the university hopes to finish the parts of the garage spanning the tracks before the end of 2013.
“The rest of the garage will be completed in the New Year with a planned occupancy sometime during the summer of 2014,” Billings said via email.
Billings said construction crews are taking up 80 spaces in lot six and 300 spaces in lot seven, or half the lot.
On Sept. 11, parking services posted a notice that student parking permits were temporarily sold out.
Billings said there are currently 338 students on the wait list for parking permits.
“We always have a waiting list at the beginning of each Fall/Winter session until students figure out other means of getting to campus,” he said.
Billings said parking permits purchased by students and returned are being offered to students on the waiting list.
He said parking services will be monitoring for two weeks at peak hours 10 a.m., noon, and 2 p.m. to see whether more permits should be opened up.
The parking services website suggests car-pooling, cycling, and public transit as interim parking options.
