Rapid transit report
Posted Feb 14, 2011 12:59:14 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Waterloo Region has unveiled 11 new rapid transit options for the public to consider, combining a number of light rail and rapid bus routes.
The cheapest option would be light rail transit from Northfield Drive to Ottawa Street, then rapid buses from Ottawa to the bus terminal on Ainslie Street in Cambridge.
It would cost $608 million, but with the federal and provincial funding, the region’s share would be $105 million, or 90 dollars per household.
Developing a rapid bus system with no light rail would cost $702 million or 96 dollars per household.
A light rail system extending from St. Jacobs to Cambridge would cost $985 million, or nearly 400 dollars per household.
One of the options includes doing nothing and keeping the transit system as is.
The report will be presented to the Planning and Works Committee meeting on Tuesday.
Director of rapid transit Nancy Button says that in making a decision, a number of things issues to be considered.
Those issues include the difficulty of converting BRT to LRT in the future and the fact that BRT would run out of capacity north of Fairview Park Mall within 20 years.
A series of public meetings will be held before region council makes a decision in June.
