New bus stop has made climb to Dartmouth medical clinic 'hell,' says senior

An 80-year-old Dartmouth man with a chronic lung disease says what was once an easy walk from a bus stopto see his doctorhas turned into a hellish slog thanks to Halifax Transit.

Bob Gouldis one of the patients who has to struggle to see his doctor at the Woodlawn Medical Clinicfrom the bus stopon Main Street in Dartmouth.

"I have to stop eight times to catch my breath," said Gould, who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which is known as COPD.

New bus stop, new hill

There used to be a bus stop at the top of Main Street, which was a short, level walk to the medical centre. Earlier this year, Halifax Transit moved the stop two blocks away at the bottom of a hill.

"If the bus stopped up there, it's a piece of cake, but down here it's hell," Gould said from the new bus stop on Friday.

His doctor has tried to intervene. Dr. Dan Reid said there are 32 doctors at the medical centre and they see about 30 patients each on a daily basis. He said many of the patients are seniors.

"My concern is,when winter comes,it's going to make for great difficulties," Reid said.

"It's going to be an icy hill, a wind blowingacross the parking lot.I hope it doesn't result in some sort of accident."

Reid has called transit officials, the local councillor and the mayor with no success.

Halifax Transit's planning and scheduling manager said the bus stop was relocated because of safety concerns. Those were identified as part of an ongoing review, not specific accidents, said Patricia Hughes.

"The concern is about buses pulling back into traffic," she said.

"There is a lot of traffic at that location and it can be moving fairly quickly."

'Very challenging location'

Neither Reid or Gould are buying that explanation. They point out there was a spot for buses to pull over at the top of the hill. Atthe new location, however, the bus has to stop in a lane, backing up traffic into the intersection.

Halifax Transit "doesn't seem to give two hoots," Gould said. "They just don't pay any attention to you."

Hughes said the transit authoritycannot reinstate the old bus stopand is not looking at any other sites.

"It is a very challenging location to deal with," she said.

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