More than 1,500 Winnipeggers have signed a petition urging the three levels of government to get off their wallets by the end of the month to fund the first phase of rapid transit for the city.
The online petition, created by the Winnipeg Rapid Transit Coalition, has been endorsed by organizations such as the Downtown BIZ, the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg and the University of Winnipeg Students' Union.
"Let's not miss the opportunity presented by the federal government to seek matching funds from the province and build a permanent improvement for Winnipeg," said Paul Hesse, a founder of WRTC.
The City of Winnipeg has already approved a rapid transit plan and conducted detailed studies for its first phase. It recently proposed $2.75 million be set aside for rapid transit from its operations budget.
WRTC, which was founded two months ago, created the petition shortly after the federal government announced it had allocated $500 million in its budget for transit projects across the country. To qualify for the funding, local governments have to commit to a project by March 31.
PREVIOUS
