London Mayor Matt Brown, Deputy Premier Deb Matthews, and London MPs Kate Young and Peter Fragiskatos  aboard an LTC bus, following public transit funding announcement, March 31, 2017. (Photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News.)London Mayor Matt Brown, Deputy Premier Deb Matthews, and London MPs Kate Young and Peter Fragiskatos aboard an LTC bus, following public transit funding announcement, March 31, 2017. (Photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News.)
London

Ottawa Chips In $37M For Transit, Including BRT

Federal funding for London's bus rapid transit (BRT) system has slowly begun to flow.

Roughly $8-million for design and engineering work on the city's rapid transit plan, Shift, was announced on Friday at the London Transit Commission headquarters on Highbury Ave.

"The support is very preliminary," said London North Centre MP Peter Fragiskatos. "It is for the support of design and it is for the support of studies undertaken to look at BRT and how it might best function in the city, how it can best provide a more efficient, effective service for transit users."

The flow of money comes as downtown merchants continue to voice concern over the effect the routes and construction would have on their businesses. A city committee voted on Monday to consider alternative routes for the $560-million plan. Final routes are expected to be finalized in the coming months.

"What route is going to be the final route is still to be decided and people are talking and that's great. But we want to underscore how important it is that transit improves in the city of London. We are all in favour of that," said London West MP Kate Young.

The money for BRT is part of a bigger announcement of $50.5-million is federal funding for 114 public transit infrastructure projects throughout southwestern Ontario.

London will receive a total of $37-million for 54 projects in the city, including $8-million for the overhaul of Dundas St. to a pedestrian-first space known as Dundas Place.

Other highlights of the investment include $1.3-million to replace all 380 bus shelters in the city, $1.9-million to install closed-circuit monitors in all 213 buses, and $1-million for the Kiwanis Park Pathway connection.

“I have to say, I can’t stop smiling,” said Mayor Matt Brown when he addressed the group of politicians, transit officials, and reporters at Friday's announcement.

A combination of city and provincial funds will match those from Ottawa, bringing the total infrastructure investment in London to $74-million.

"We worked our way through the application process and we are adding the federal government money to our share on these projects. These are projects that needed to occur in our community and with the support of the federal government we can get on them right away," said Brown.

St. Thomas, Windsor, Chatham-Kent, and Sarnia are among the other cities getting a cut of the funding.

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