Wynne, Liberals pledge $29B to address provincial transit

June 6, 2014
YorkRegion.ca
Brea Bartholet

Premier Kathleen Wynne, accompanied by local Liberal candidates Chris Ballard and Loralea Carruthers, announced the party’s extensive vision for transit among the Greater Toronto Hamilton Friday morning.

Supporters gathered at the East Gwillimbury bus servicing and storage facility as Wynne explained how the plan’s implementation would knit communities together within the GTHA into a more vibrant region.

Growing up in Richmond Hill, Wynne referred to her roots in York Region as a pushing force to create more extensive and efficient transit systems.

“It’s clear we need to make more investments. We need to move Ontario forward,” she said.

“These links are what need to happen and this is our opportunity to fix the issues for a generation to come.”

As part of a 10-year plan, the proposed investment includes $29-billion in funding for transit and transportation infrastructure across the province.

An expected, $15-billion will be dedicated to projects within the GTHA, while the other $14 billion will go toward other projects outside of the GTHA.

In late May, Ballard and Transportation Minister Glen Murray sat down to discuss a two-way electric transit system throughout all current GO lines.

The enhancement, part of the10-year initiative, would use low-cost, multi-vehicle units available every 15 minutes to commuters while involving service accessible from East Gwillimbury to Toronto on the Barrie line and throughout the GTA on other GO lines.

During Wynne’s visit, Ballard reiterated his support for transit .

“This demonstrates renewed commitment to the proposed two-way GO system,” explained Ballard, the Newmarket-Aurora riding candidate.

The system will be a fundamental game changer for Newmarket, Aurora and surrounding areas. Premier Wynne spoke of the $15-billion coming into the GTA alone. That’s going to be a great step forward, he said.

Carruthers, representing the York-Simcoe riding, agrees, adding small communities such as Innisfil have been requesting the implementation of local transit – hoping to follow in the footsteps of Bradford West Gwillimbury, which recently introduced a daily bus system.

“Investing in transit is the No. 1 issue right now,” she added.

“We need to continue investing. No one is saying there’s too much transit, they’re saying there isn’t enough.”

Priority projects throughout the GTHA include the electrified two-way GO service, expansion of GO service to Kitchener-Waterloo-Guelph and a Yonge north subway expansion to York Region.

On June 4, Wynne made a 20-day commitment – announcing that, if re-elected, a Liberal government will reintroduce the 2014 Liberal budget, which includes transportation and infrastructure costs.

Though Wynne was bombarded with questions regarding ongoing gas plant investigations, she continued to direct her focus on the transit initiative and remaining six days of her campaign.