Project Overview

Improving Services for our Customers

handyDART is an accessible, door-to-door shared transit service for people with permanent or temporary disabilities that prevent them from using fixed-route transit without assistance from another person. The new location will enable BC Transit to respond to the growing needs for handyDART services in Greater Victoria, as well as expand the conventional transit service.

The BC Transportation Financing Authority provided the eight-acre property at 2401 Burnside Road to BC Transit for a new handyDART centre in 2019. The centre will occupy a portion of the property and the unused portion of the property will be enhanced through sidewalks, landscaping, and environmental restoration. Jointly funded by the Victoria Regional Transit commission, the Province and the federal government, the facility is planned to open in 2024.

Project at a Glance

The centre will be the first BC Transit facility in BC built to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold requirements. LEED principles outline site requirements that employ best management practices to reduce chemical use, energy, water, air pollution, solid waste, and/or runoff associated with the building site. The main building will be located adjacent to the highway exit, the furthest possible distance from neighbouring properties. It will include West-Coast design elements to respond to the neighbourhood character and context. A wash bay and temporary fueling station will also be included. The entrance will be off West Burnside Road.
All handyDART vehicles on site will be gas and electric. Although handyDART has traditionally used diesel vehicles, no diesel vehicles will be utilized at this location. BC Transit’s Low Carbon Fleet Program provides a roadmap for transitioning to a fully electric transit fleet and infrastructure to support a fully electric fleet will be installed during construction.
Environmental protection is always a key planning principle applied to site design and operations. The development will meet or exceed all Provincial and Federal standards for environmental protection. Thoughtful planning in consultation with environmental professionals and local streamkeepers will ensure the environmentally sensitive features of the property, in particular, Craigflower Creek, are protected. No development activity occurs within 30 metres of the Creek.
Recognizing the project’s high standards for water conservation, stormwater management and restoration of the stream that runs into Craigflower Creek, the site is the first development on Vancouver Island to be certified Salmon-Safe by the Fraser Basin Council. Learn more: https://www.salmonsafe.ca/
A seasonal stream onsite has been re-aligned and restored, creating one acre of protected riparian area connecting to Craigflower Creek, through a gentle transition area to allow the new stream access to its floodplain during periods of high rainfall. It will provide new amphibian habitat and potential rearing habitat for Coho salmon and other juvenile fish.
New landscaping will include hundreds of native trees and fencing will be added. New boulevards and sidewalks were added or improved on Watkiss Way and Burnside Road. Two new transit shelters will be introduced: one on Watkiss Way and one on Burnside Road, and the Galloping Goose Regional Trail was straightened, and the grade was reduced making the trail safer and more accessible.
A new trailhead on the northwest corner of the property introduced a new plaza area
Six guiding principles inform the design and sustainability objectives for the site

Project Timeline

Several phases of public engagement have informed the design and site planning. Early work started in early 2022 and construction will begin in spring 2023.

Site Features