As part of its provincial transit engagement strategy, the Government of Alberta announced in March it would be asking municipalities to provide input on the future of public transit across the province. The Province indicated it would use the feedback to both develop funding criteria and a provincial transit strategy.
Transit Co-ordinator Chris MacIsaac presented City council with the City’s completed feedback – in the form of a workbook – at its April 18 meeting.
“The approach that they’re using is to be very inclusive of all Albertans, realizing that there are needs in both rural Alberta and urban Alberta for public transit services,” he said. “Airdrie falls within the urban stream being a community of 10,000 or more. They’ve created a workbook for those in an urban or rural context.”
The Province requires the workbooks be completed and sent in to Alberta Transportation by April 29. Individuals wishing to provide their feedback can do so at transportation.alberta.ca
According to MacIsaac, City staff will be involved in a feedback session with the Calgary Regional Partnership (CRP) and Capital Region Board in Red Deer at the end of April.
“This is another opportunity for us to share our concerns or our feedback with Alberta Transportation as they embark on creating a new provincial strategy,” he said.
Mayor Peter Brown said he had concerns about how receptive Alberta Transportation is to Airdrie’s concerns.
“In relation to regional transportation, I keep hearing that CRP and Alberta Transportation are looking at setting up shop and I never feel like we’re listened to,” he said. “There just seems to me like there’s been no consideration, because we’re really the primary regional transit service in this area and we’re successful at it.”
MacIsaac said he was confident staff had outlined in the workbook how Airdrie has gone about implementing and developing regional transit, including the Inter City Express (ICE) bus.
“These types of regional services should truly be driven at a community level, managed at a community level and provided at the community level,” he said. “I think we’ve been very thoughtful in our approach within this workbook to state that position. I think it’s very critical for us to get that message back to the Province, that the regional transit program the City operates today should continue as a City-provided service.”
Council unanimously approved staff’s recommendation to submit the workbook to the Province as written.
