London's mayor says he is looking forward to hearing from the public about the direction of public transit in the city.
Londoners will get a chance to have their say on Wednesday at a public participation meeting about the list of transit projects that may be eligible for funding from the Ontario and federal governments.
“Perhaps no issue in London’s history has been subject to as much public participation in various forms as this one, but until now, members of the public, and by extension members of Council, have never had the opportunity to consider these projects as individual components,” Mayor Ed Holder said in a statement issued Monday. “I’m very much looking forward to hearing thoughtful and constructive feedback from as many perspectives as possible. This is by no means the final conversation we’ll ever have on transportation, but it’s one we must have in the lead-up to March 31 if we want to improve our odds of accessing $374.8 million in federal and provincial government funding to address public transit in London.”
Last week, the city released the menu-style list of transit project options council can select from when applying for funding from the provincial and federal governments. The new pick-and-choose approach dismantles the old 24-kilometre take-it-or-leave-it system in favour of flexibility, according to Jennie Ramsay, the city’s director of rapid transit.
The meeting, which will be chaired by the mayor, will be held at Centennial Hall on Wednesday. It begins at 3 p.m.
Speakers will be allotted up five minutes. For those who wish to provide input, but would rather not speak publicly, written submissions will be accepted at the meeting.
The input gathered at the meeting will be incorporated in a report that will be given to councillors and discussed at the Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee meeting on Monday, March 25. City council will meet the next day to finalize the list of transit projects that will be submitted to the provincial and federal governments for funding consideration.
-With files from Miranda Chant