Liberals commit $44M per year for rapid transit
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$0 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*No charge for 4 weeks then price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/09/2011 (5170 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The Manitoba Liberals promise to speed up the construction of rapid transit in Winnipeg by spending $44 million a year on dedicated bus or rail corridors — with or without a matching federal commitment.
Leader Jon Gerrard pledged almost unconditional funding for rapid-transit lines in Winnipeg, promising to allow the City of Winnipeg to choose which mode of transit will be built.
Gerrard said a Liberal government would spend $44 million a year for as long as it takes to build a network. He did not define the network, but said the Southwest Rapid Transit Corridor must be extended to the University of Manitoba.
It only makes sense to continue the line south to the U of M, where a new stadium is being built for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, he said.
The first phase of this corridor, a 3.6-kilometre link between Queen Elizabeth Way and Jubilee Avenue, is expected to open in April 2012. The $138-million bus corridor has been under construction since 2009.
Based on this length, Gerrard claimed Manitoba’s governing New Democrats have only built 300 metres of rapid-transit corridor per year in office.
The Selinger government has offered to partly fund the second phase of the southwest corridor, a six-kilometre link between Jubilee Avenue and Bison Drive. But Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz has rejected the offer on the grounds the funding is insufficient and that light rail would be a better option.
City council also endorsed a Katz effort to devote federal infrastructure funds to other road and bridge projects.
Gerrard said he would work with Katz to speed up the pace of rapid-transit construction. He did not elaborate how this would be done.
Related Articles
Meet your candidate: We invited would-be MLAs to introduce themselves to you
Advertisement Advertise With Us
History
Updated on Wednesday, September 14, 2011 5:45 PM CDT: Adds details.