The Southwestern Ontario Transportation Alliance unveiled its public transportation action plan in St. Marys yesterday.
The plan addresses integrated transportation needs in an area stretching from Windsor, to Niagara Falls, to Owen Sound.
Network Southwest will need a $400-million investment over five years to buy modern, Ontario-built trains, and make safety and capacity improvements to the railway network.
The cost is equivalent to 1 km of new subway tunnel
The plan also includes establishing a network of bus routes to reconnect dozens of communities that have lost bus service since 2009.
Group president Terence Johnson says Via Rail and the province are actively exploring major infrastructure projects.
“Both the provincial government and VIA Rail are actively exploring major infrastructure projects that promise significant benefits ten years or more down the tracks," he says. "This is encouraging, but it doesn't change that fact that communities that have lost all their bus services, like Wingham, or lost the key train that allowed people to commute, like St. Marys, require urgent action to prevent further economic damage. Triggering the network effect, making sure the whole system is integrated and easy to use, multiplies the impact of every dollar invested. We are delighted to have developed a practical and affordable plan to turn the tide right now."
“There is nothing technologically or legislatively untested in the Network Southwest concept, which has been proven by the successful U.S. examples on which it is based. Nor is the cost onerous, especially in the context of recent Canadian transportation projects. What Network Southwest requires most is the will of both the federal and provincial governments. With the concept now in hand, the time has come to determine whether either or both levels of government are willing to investigate mobility solutions that will deliver major economic, social and environmental benefits to southwestern Ontario at a time when such improvements are urgent,” says the report’s author, Greg Gormick.
St. Marys Mayor Al Strathdee also announced a contribution toward the cost of the report which was funded by municipalities and advocacy groups.
