Two High Country communities are eager to hop on board a proposed two-year pilot project to bring public transit to the Foothills.
Black Diamond and Turner Valley Town councils agreed to participate in the two-year On-it regional transit system during their respective council meetings last week.
The Calgary Regional Partnership project would see busses link Okotoks, Black Diamond, Turner Valley, High River and Nanton to Calgary’s most southerly LRT station, Somerset-Bridlewood, from September 2016 to August 2018.
“I think for both of our communities it’s a great opportunity to explore what the needs are,” said Black Diamond Mayor Sharlene Brown. “We will have two years to be able to determine if this is viable.”
Brown said the pilot project not only gives community members another option for transportation, but it also fits well into the community’s ongoing green initiatives.
“Black Diamond has done a lot of work in regards to renewable energy,” she said. “It’s taking vehicles off the road and it’s an opportunity for a reduction in greenhouse gas emission.”
The pilot project proposes two stops in Turner Valley and four in Black Diamond. Ruth Goodwin, Black Diamond council’s representative on the CRP Transportation Steering committee, said residents will have a chance to provide their own suggestions and input on this and various other aspects of the pilot project during public consultation sessions at the Sheep River Library on Oct. 26 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Black Diamond Town office Nov. 10 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
“I want them to come with their opinions,” she said. “It will be based on the input that we get at the open houses. If we have to make corrections we will.”
Financial commitments from the towns include footing the cost of bus stop infrastructure.
The towns will also have to cover additional costs beyond the $500,000 the partnership has committed to pay each year for the pilot project.
This will be based on a formula, with 20 percent being split equally between the five towns involved, 40 per cent based on their populations and the remaining 40 per cent based on service hours, said Goodwin.
“We are going to be very diligent during the first year of the pilot project to make sure we don’t have any cost overruns,” she said.
Planning for the regional transit system pilot project began a year and a half ago, with the partnership’s 14 communities spending hours determining their needs, she said.
Dona Fluter, the Black Diamond council representative on the CRP Transportation Steering committee and transportation pilot program, said the pilot project is turning a page towards better transit in Alberta and regional connectivity between municipalities.
“Once we get ours established we will look at doing it in other areas throughout the Calgary region,” she said during Black Diamond Town council on Oct. 5. “This is going to be a very gradual and a huge cultural change for those who live in Alberta. With the cost of infrastructure we cannot keep doing what we’ve been doing. I’m excited about moving into the future and see what type of role they (the government) want to play to help small communities afford these programs once they get rolling.”
Fluter said she expects the annual cost would be $10,000 for each participating community if regional transit carries on into a third year.
“It will be rigorously reviewed after each year,” she said. “We have until the third year to determine if we want to move forward. This is a work in progress, it’s building into the future and I believe it will be successful.”
Fluter added a “huge” advertising campaign will be implemented to ensure people across the region are aware of the transit service before it begins.
Turner Valley mayor Kelly Tuck said adding another source of transportation is important for residents in the region and she is eager to see what volume it will attract and who will utilize it.
Tuck is also eager to hear responses from the public at the upcoming consultation sessions.
“I would like to see what their needs are to be able to access the city of Calgary and I would like to see what the numbers would look like for us to understand how it is going to be utilized,” she said. “Let’s see if it’s utilized, let’s see if it’s worth it.”
Following the public engagement sessions in the five communities this month and next, a summary of survey results taken in the communities previously and public input from the consultation sessions will be incorporated into revising the existing proposal.
The survey results show seven out of 10 residents in the pilot region travel between their communities and Calgary at least once a week and that the service would be a benefit to potential users due to reduced costs for transportation and parking, comfort and environmentally.
A marketing and advertising plan will be established in December, followed by the regional transit pilot plans in early 2016. The service will be contracted to a private business, with the bids expected to go out early in the New Year.
