London's mayor believes excitement is building for a rapid transit system in the city.
Roughly 300 people turned out Wednesday for the city's first public meeting on the detailed plans for the proposed $880-million project. Residents looked over four options that are on the table, even though city councillors have already selected their preferred option - a hybrid of light rail and buses.
"We are in a really important stage in terms of consultation. This is the final stage of consultation before final decisions are made, so we are listening very carefully to Londoners," says Mayor Matt Brown. "There was a lot of discussion. It ranged from corridor and route suggestions, benefits of various technologies, and even timing of implementation. There was a good deal of discussion on how the project would be funded moving forward."
The city has yet to nail down funding for rapid transit from Ottawa and Queen's Park but it is expected the city's share would be $125-million. That money would come from development charges collected over two decades.
"I think that we all realize that we are dealing with congestion today. It hurts our economy, public safety, and quality of life," says Brown. "We know that we are going to have 25% more cars on the road and 77,000 more Londoners living in the city in the next 20 years. We have to do something, Shift is the direction to go and it's the corner stone of the London plan as well. To work together to build a community that grows a little more inward and a little more upward so that it is easier to move across the city in the years to come."
Under the preferred plan, north and east routes would be served by light rail while the south and west routes would have buses.
The north and east line would connect Masonville Place, Western University, Western Research Park, LHSC (University Campus), St. Joseph’s Hospital, downtown London, Old East Village, the London Psychiatric Hospital redevelopment lands, Fanshawe College and eventually the London International Airport.
The south and west lines would connect White Oaks Mall, LHSC (Victoria campus, Children’s Hospital), downtown London and the Oxford-Wonderland residential and commercial hub.
The next public consultation is being held Saturday (December 5) from 10am to 2pm on the main floor of City Hall. Residents can also have their voice heard online at www.shiftlondon.ca.
Based on the input of Londoners, city staff will present their final recommendation to council in the Spring of 2016. If approved, work could start on the rapid transit system by 2017.
**With files from Scott Kitching.
