Bus rapid transit would strengthen London and help it remain a hub of Southwestern Ontario, the president of Libro Credit Union says.

Though local corporate voices largely have been silent during the contentious debate, London-based Libro boss Stephen Bolton is speaking out to support “the concept” of BRT generally, knowing full well he could face a backlash from its critics.

“For us, to compete on the world stage, we need to be world class in Southwestern Ontario,” Bolton said in an interview Monday, four days after voicing his view at a raucous public meeting.

“Having a world-class city where we’re able to attract the brightest and the best is really important. Having the infrastructure to do that, so people want to come here, so young people want to stay here, is really, really important.”

The exact routes are the real BRT battleground facing city council. Bolton is largely staying out of that — “I don’t know that I have enough information,” he said — but clearly believes there are benefits to the $560-million project.

Libro’s York Street office, near the proposed BRT hub at King and Clarence streets, houses 150 employees. Bolton oversees a workforce of nearly 700 across Southwestern Ontario and Libro has 103,000 customer-owners and $4 billion in assets under administration.

So why wade into the BRT ­debate? Though downtown merchants are clear they want major changes to the plan, few corporate leaders have spoken up.

For Bolton, the answer is in the figures from city hall’s rapid transit business case, chiefly the projection that London’s population will swell by 77,000 by the early 2030s.

“We have 150 staff that work in this building every day. There’s 100 cars in our parking garage every day,” he said. “Is that sustainable? I don’t know if it is, when we add 77,000 people to the city.”

The concerns of merchants and landowners, chiefly along Richmond Row, aren’t lost on Bolton. He’s concerned about council changing the project “to a point that it doesn’t make sense anymore,” but agrees there’s “a lot of nervousness” downtown.

“But will the city be better off by investing now than we would be otherwise? I think so,” he said. “We also need to find ways to help those who are put at risk, for lack of a better word, in the short term.”

What city hall has proposed is a 24-kilometre system of high-­frequency buses running on L- and 7-shaped corridors bisecting London, with downtown as the hub. The routes are the flashpoints, chiefly King Street near Budweiser Gardens and a northern corridor that requires a tunnel beneath Richmond Row.

Council has delayed making a final route decision pending more public consultation, especially with downtown merchants, who fear BRT construction could kill their businesses.

Politicians are scheduled to vote on the routes in mid-May. A public meeting is slated for May 3 at Budweiser Gardens.

Though the project’s price tag is $560 million, city hall’s stake is capped at about $130 million, much of that coming from development charges. The rest would be needed from upper levels of government, and so far only about $8 million has been pledged by Ottawa.

pmaloney@postmedia.com

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