Location | Acadian Coach Lines off to Woodside Lane?

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By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

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It's not its first choice, but moving to 150 Woodside Lane is an option for Acadian Coach Lines, which is living on borrowed time at its downtown location.

After 23 years at the corner of Regent and Brunswick streets, the company is being evicted from its home.

Its landlord has handed the company a notice to vacate as of April 1, and has tolerated them over-staying their lease temporarily.

The landlord intends to redevelop the site.

"We would love to be downtown, but we just can't find accommodations downtown," said Linda Canney, the company's territory manager for the Fredericton area.

At the city's planning advisory committee meeting Wednesday, approval was given to Moncton-based Acadian Coach Lines' business to be permitted within the highway commercial zone on Woodside Lane.

United Rentals has offered to become the bus company's landlord and can reconfigure its building to create the 335 square metres of space needed for the administrative office, customer seating area, ticket sales location and storage for parcels.

The operation employs three customer sales representatives and a manager.

Although the proposed location off Hanwell Road is less convenient for customers than the downtown area, Canney said 90 per cent of bus passengers come by cab or are dropped off at the bus station because they have luggage.

"They don't travel light," Canney said.

Planning advisory committee member Alan Raynor said the former York Street train station property might be expensive to redevelop, but it would be a choice location for the bus system.

"Would the (Acadian Coach) Lines consider a location, as time permits, probably a little more desirable than this? I assume they would. They're trying to serve their customers," Raynor asked.

"We certainly would," Canney said. "We have been looking for the past five years. There's just no location downtown where we can accommodate our buses, per se. A terminal isn't the issue. It's space for our (buses)."

City council will get the final say on the zoning change needed to allow Acadian Coach Lines to sub-lease from United Rentals.

A new driveway to the property would be located on Serenity Lane with parking for four buses.

The bus terminal would operate from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. During the day, there will also be additional travel to and from the area for the courier service, which also operates from Acadian Coach Lines' office.

Fleet maintenance and repair of buses is done in Moncton.