Halifax, Nova Scotia, September 28, 2012 – The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) will officially open the new Metro Transit Bridge Terminal in Dartmouth on Monday, October 1st. The state-of-the-art terminal, completed with Government of Canada funding, will accommodate the Municipality's growing transit needs.
"Our government is proud to support the new Metro Transit Bridge Terminal and the thousands of commuters that use this terminal every weekday,"
said the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Regional Minister for Nova Scotia. "Our government invests over $55 million every year to support Nova Scotia's growing communities and we will continue to invest in infrastructure as we focus on creating jobs, growth and long-term prosperity across Canada."
"The opening of this new transit facility is a much needed upgrade to improve accessibility and amenities for residents of Halifax Regional Municipality,"
said John MacDonell, Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations. "These improvements will allow for future growth to meet the ongoing transit needs of HRM."
The Metro Transit Bridge Terminal is the busiest in Nova Scotia, serving over 23,000 passengers each weekday. As part of Metro Transit's continued service expansion, replacing the existing terminal is integral to meeting increasing service and passenger demands. The new terminal includes 16 accessible bus bays, enabling all passengers to board from the platform. It also features a fully enclosed, climate-controlled passenger waiting area with space for a visitor kiosk, public washrooms and onsite bicycle storage. In addition to increased safety and security measures, the new building has a landscaped green roof at Thistle and Nantucket streets and provides an accessible pedestrian connection from those streets to the terminal below.
His Worship Peter Kelly, Mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality, welcomed the completion of the new facility. "This is another significant milestone in our efforts to provide a safe, reliable and sustainable public transit system for the community,"
Mayor Kelly said. "This new terminal, with its improved accessibility, convenient journey connections, and additional services will make Metro Transit an appealing transportation option for citizens."
The HRM directed $8.4 million of its federal Gas Tax Fund allocation toward this project and provided the remaining project costs of $6.3 million. The total project cost for the construction of the new Metro Transit Bridge Terminal was $14.7 million.
The Government of Canada, through the Gas Tax Fund alone, provides $55.9 million in annual funding for municipal infrastructure in Nova Scotia. Between 2010 and 2014, the HRM will receive $99.2 million from the Gas Tax Fund. This Fund delivers stable, long-term funding to local governments to help them build and revitalize public infrastructure. In December 2011, the Government of Canada, through Canada's Economic Action Plan, passed legislation to make the Gas Tax Fund a permanent annual investment of $2 billion per year.
The Government of Canada has engaged provinces, territories, municipalities and key stakeholders in a series of roundtables to guide the development of a new long-term infrastructure plan that will support job creation, economic growth and prosperity. We have heard that we are on the right track: there is a need for strong, sustained investment and we must continue to work together moving forward. To improve infrastructure across Canada and leverage new investment, our new long-term plan will encourage greater use of public-private partnerships, while respecting the capacity of Canadian taxpayers.
For additional information about Infrastructure Canada's projects in Nova Scotia and to stay up-to-date with Web feeds, visit www.infrastructure.gc.ca.
For further information about Canada's Economic Action Plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.
Contacts:
Geneviève Sicard
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Transport Infrastructure and Communities
613-991-0700
Susan Mader Zinck
Communications Advisor
Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations
902-722-1461
E-mail: madersd@gov.ns.ca
Mayor Peter Kelly
Halifax Regional Municipality
902-490-4010
Infrastructure Canada
613-960-9251
Toll-free 1-877-250-7154
