Kamloops, British Columbia - Parliamentary Secretary
to the Minister of Veterans Affairs, Betty Hinton, on behalf of the
Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and
Communities, and the Honourable Kevin Falcon, BCs Minister of
Transportation and Minister responsible for BC Transit, together with his
Worship Terry Lake, Mayor of Kamloops, today officially marked the opening
of the new Lansdowne Transit Exchange.
This project was made possible through a constructive partnership
between the three orders of governments. The Government of Canada
provided $724,384 through its Public Transit Fund, the Province of British
Columbia provided $327,000 and the City of Kamloops provided $403,616.
"Reliable and efficient public transit is key to ensuring sustainable,
vibrant and healthy communities," said Parliamentary Secretary Hinton.
"Canada's New Government recognizes that improving public transit use will
contribute to reducing smog and greenhouse emissions as well as make our
communities more livable."
The investment involves a new transit exchange with increased capacity
for buses and routes, improved circulation for buses within the exchange
itself, a transit priority signal, a larger and safer walking and boarding
area, better lighting, benches, shelters and landscaping as well as a
washroom and small office/waiting room facility for bus drivers.
"Every improvement we make to transit infrastructure helps build a
better transportation network in B.C.," said Minister Falcon. "This
transit exchange is a good example of how we can continue to make
improvements in public transit with an eye toward reducing the pressure on
our roadways as well as our environment."
"Kamloops transit is extremely efficient, offering the highest level of
operating hours per capita, and the highest recovery of operating costs
among similar-sized municipalities in British Columbia," said Mayor Lake.
"We have experienced a tremendous growth in ridership thanks to our U-Pass
partnership with the Thompson Rivers University student body, which
encourages students to use public transit, and we will continue to develop
our partnership with School District 73 to develop cost-efficient and
environmentally friendly transportation options for our community."
In commenting on this opening, Minister Cannon pointed out that "This
transit project is an example of this Government's multi-billion dollar
commitment to improving municipal infrastructure across Canada."
"This is the first project in BC to be completed with funding made
available by the Government of Canada through the Public Transit Fund,"
said UBCM President Brenda Binnie. "In our capacity as administrator of
this funding, UBCM congratulates the City of Kamloops for making these
important transit system improvements a reality."
The Government of Canada is providing $1.3 billion for public transit
across Canada through the Public Transit Fund and the Public Transit
Capital Trust, of which British Columbia will receive $171.8 million.
