Posted July 16th, 2010 by Tim Mollison
KITCHENER – The Tri-Cities Transport Action Group (TriTAG) has launched a public campaign aimed at encouraging citizens of Waterloo Region to ask the Federal Government to match the Province of Ontario’s $300 million commitment for the Region’s Rapid Transit Project.
“The Province’s commitment has, unfortunately, fallen short of the Region’s request made last year and the repeated hints at two-thirds funding,” said Tim Mollison, a TriTAG founding member. “In falling short of the two-thirds funding convention provided to similar projects in the City of Toronto, the McGuinty Government has added much fuel to local controversy about whether this project has enough funding to move forward.”
TriTAG is inviting citizens of Waterloo Region to use its website to contact their representatives in Ottawa in support of the Region’s initiative. “We believe it is important to facilitate communication between people and their government, especially on issues of such importance,” said TriTAG founding member Taylor Byrnes.
“Despite the gap left by the province, we hope that the Federal Government can step up to bat and match the Province‘s contribution, as was done in the City of Ottawa,” said Mollison. “The Federal Minister of Transport’s office has said the Region will get its ‘fair share’ — it’s time to find out what that means to the Government of Canada.”
The Tri-Cities Transport Action Group is a citizens’ group dedicated to making Waterloo Region a more livable place through better transit and active transportation. For more information, please visit their website at http://tritag.ca
For media inquiries, please contact Tim Mollison at (519) 886-5339.
In Light Rail, News, Transit, TriTAG | No Comments »
Posted January 14th, 2010 by Michael Druker
He’s said it before, and he’ll say it again: John Shortreed likes buses. You might say he even wrote the book on the subject! Mr. Shortreed is a retired civil engineering professor, who worked for decades within the context of the post-war transportation planning mindset. During the tenure of Mr. Shortreed and other transit planners of the same era, streetcars were replaced with buses, transit use plummeted, highways got built through downtowns, and sprawl became ubiquitous. And actually, it’s not really true that he likes buses, since he’s publicly admitted that he doesn’t “have time to take transit” (though he lives next to the Route 7 mainline). Is this really someone who is fit to give transportation advice for the 21st century?
But he’s written his screed against light rail, and it deserves a response, so I will provide one by considering his points one at a time. Read the rest of this entry »
In Light Rail, News | 3 Comments »
Posted December 8th, 2009 by Tim Mollison
Investigation by the Tri-Cities Transport Action Group (TriTAG) reveals that the planned 2010 budget for the Region of Waterloo is heavily skewed towards road expansion and makes minimal investments in transit, cycling, and pedestrian infrastructure.
“While the Region is budgeting $100 million for road infrastructure in 2010, little of that money is for sidewalks and bicycle lanes — and most of that expenditure is almost incidental”, said Tim Mollison, a TriTAG founding member. “Major Regional roads such as Franklin Boulevard, Ottawa Street, Fischer-Hallman Road, Coronation Boulevard, Westmount Road, King Street, and Hespeler Road are all still missing sidewalks. Of the Region’s proposed $100 million transportation budget, less than $1 million is planned for sidewalks, and out of a total expenditure of $2.2 million for sidewalks and bike lanes, only $300,000 is not part of an existing road project.”
Read the rest of this entry »
In Buses, Cycling, Light Rail, News, Transit, TriTAG, Walking | 2 Comments »
Posted October 26th, 2009 by Sylvan Mably
According to a report by the Real Estate Investment Group, Waterloo Region is the best place in Ontario to invest in real estate. In an interview with CBC News, Don Campbell, head of the Real Estate Investment Group, cited the region’s Light Rail rapid transit plan as one of the reasons to invest in the area.
“You’re seeing [BlackBerry maker] RIM and seeing the high-tech industries still continue to grow and hire,” he said. “And at the same time, they’re revitalizing the downtown of the old cities of Cambridge and Kitchener and now they’re talking about [light rapid transit].”
The report credits Light Rail as a method to significantly improve property values, even when established before higher-density development begins.
“Accessibility is a critical determinant of residential land values, and the improved access between urban centres and residential neighbourhoods greatly improves the value of homes. This is even evident when light rail precedes development”
Sources:
Further reading
In Light Rail, News, Transit | 2 Comments »
Posted June 24th, 2009 by Michael Druker
In a historic decision on June 24, Waterloo Regional Council overwhelmingly approved the visionary staff recommendation for a rapid transit line for the region. Regional staff have been working on the project for three and a half years, and recommended a staged implementation of light rail, with the initial stretch from north Waterloo to east Kitchener, and an upgraded iXpress-style bus route between east Kitchener and south Cambridge.
At that meeting and the previous public meeting on June 10, numerous residents and delegations spoke in front of Council, the majority speaking in favour of the plan. TriTAG thanks its supporters who spoke at Council.
The vote will allow the Regional staff to proceed with funding negotiations with the provincial and federal governments, which are expected to cover the vast majority of the costs of launching our rapid transit system. Construction is expected to begin in 2011/2012, with the light rail line operational in 2014.
In Light Rail, News, Transit | No Comments »
