Residents are being asked to learn more about and give their feedback on a future transit overhaul.
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent has initiated a Transit Strategy Project. The project will eventually provide council with recommendations on the future direction of CKTransit.
Municipal officials will be holding a public information session this month to give residents a detailed look at the strategy so far and give them a chance to ask questions as well as provide feedback.
Ian Clark, project manager, said the strategy is over a year in the making.
"Over the past 18 months through various municipal projects and consultations, its become apparent that our public transit system is in need of a review. We received feedback on everything from the size of our busses, our fare structure, to where the system goes and how often the service runs," he said. “We’ll be studying some of the best and innovative practices from other municipalities, determine if and how they can be applied in Chatham-Kent as well as speaking with our riders, businesses and service groups to see how we can specifically be doing things differently to improve the transit experience for everyone.”
According to Clark, the public information session will be open-house, drop-in style. Comments from residents during the meetings will be documented and used to shape the strategy.
"The public will be able to view information on the public scope, the service level development process and different service delivery models used in other jurisdictions," Clark explained. "They can also provide us with their concerns and feedback on how they see our service moving forward."
Clarks adds that the strategy will be looking at long term improvements that will be implemented and used over the next five to 10 years.
"We know that our current service providers are expiring in June of 2021. We just want to make sure that we're prepared for any service level changes before that time," he said. "Whatever service levels changes [there are] would likely be on a medium to long term basis."
The public information session will be held as follows:
Monday, August 12, 2019 11:30 am – 2:00 pm, Tilbury Municipal Centre, 17 Superior Street, Tilbury 4:00 pm – 6:30 pm, Wallaceburg Municipal Centre, 786 Dufferin Avenue, Wallaceburg
Tuesday, August 13, 2019 12:00 pm – 2:30 pm, Ridgetown & Area Adult Activity Centre, 19-21 Main St. West, Ridgetown 4:00 pm – 6:30 pm, Blenheim & Community Senior Centre, 55 Jane Street, Blenheim
Wednesday, August 14, 2019 10:00 am – 12:00 pm, Chatham-Kent Civic Centre, 315 King Street W., Chatham 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm, Active Lifestyle Centre, 20 Merritt Avenue, Chatham 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm, W.I.S.H. Centre, 177 King Street East, Chatham
For anyone unable to attend the meetings, information on the strategy as well as a comment section will be available at letstalkchatham-kent.ca starting on August 12.