Thursday September 25, 2014 – 10am
Posted Sep 25, 2014 12:06:46 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
10:00- More GO Trains coming to the Region….eventually
Bruce McCuaig, President and CEO of Metrolinx
The province is taking the next steps towards two-way, all-day Regional Express Rail service along the Kitchener line. A public announcement took place this afternoon at the Kitchener Go Station with VP of Operations for GO Transit, Paul Finnerty as well as local MPP’s Daiene Vernile and Kathryn McGarry. McGarry is also the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Transportation. The line runs from west of Main Street in Georgetown to Park Street in Kitchener. Regional Express Rail service will mean faster, more frequent trains, operating in both directions throughout the day, in the evenings and on weekends. The rail line was purchased at a cost of $76 million dollars, meaning Metrolinx now owns 80% of the rail corridor over which GO Transit operates. GO Transit officials say they’ll be doubling train service between the region and Toronto by 2016, but the changes will be incremental. “By 2016, we’ll double the current service so people will have more choices for transportation from here into points towards Toronto” says Paul Finnerty, Vice President of Operations for Go Transit. GO Transit carries approximately 66 million passengers every year, running over 250 train trips on a typical weekday.
10:30- Cambridge explains e-voting before municipal election
Michael Di Lullo, City Clerk for the City of Cambridge
The City of Cambridge will host a live demonstration of its new online voting system at City Hall tonight. The live demonstration is meant to put residents at ease as the city becomes the first municipality in the region to offer online voting. City clerk Michael Di Lullo will walk residents through a demonstration while McMaster University professor Nicole Goodman will give a lecture about e-democracy and citizen engagement. In an attempt to reverse the trend of sliding voter turnout, the city purchased a system that will allow eligible voters to cast a ballot over the phone or via the internet. Cambridge’s system will allow voters to add themselves to the voter’s list online. Each eligible voter will then receive a unique PIN number to use to log in to a secure website to cast a ballot. Turnout in Cambridge has ticked upwards over the past three elections. In 2003, only 22% of eligible voters cast ballots. In 2006, 26% of voters turned up to vote. By 2010, turnout increased to 29%. The cities of Guelph, Markham, Leamington and Peterborough will also offer online voting in the upcoming municipal election.
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