A portion of downtown Victoria will soon be transformed into a “trial” home for buses, but not everyone is on board with the proposal.

A joint proposal from BC Transit and three commercial bus operators says part of Douglas Street in front of Crystal Garden is the best place to put the new bus precinct.

The bus companies were told they must move out of the existing depot at Douglas and Belleville streets by the end of May, because a residential development is planned for that property.

They will lease a portion of Crystal Garden for use as a customer service centre where customers can buy tickets and wait for their buses during an 18-month trial period.

That includes space for about 15 to 20 buses per day departing between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. during peak season.

It means vehicle parking near the museum will be removed to make way for the buses.

Residents have expressed concerns over an increase in emissions and noise to Victoria City Council.

The owner of the Old Spaghetti Factory across the street from the proposed precinct says he sees value in the proposal but has concerns about how emissions will impact his business.

“We hope that our feedback is heard as a tenant that has been here for 17 years,” said Mike Gonzales. “We are concerned about the fumes and the noise associated with some of the vehicles that will be staging on Douglas Street, and we do hope they can address that in some fashion.”

He said the proximity of the buses to the restaurant won’t be good for business, and that he has communicated directly with city hall about his concerns.

A possible solution would be to move the staging area slightly north on Douglas Street, Gonzales said.

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps said council has received hundreds of emails sharing the same concerns, and the city’s director of engineering had highlighted all of those concerns in a recent report.

“This isn’t going to make everybody happy, but the option of doing nothing is not an option,” she said. “Tourism is our number two private sector industry, and a lot of our locals take the bus out of town to the airport as well.”

The city said it will review the project and explore whether there are better options during the trial period.