"It is a great day for transit in Bradford West Gwillimbury," said the Hon. MPP Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation and Minister of Francophone Affairs on Friday afternoon as she along with York-Simcoe MP Scot Davidson and BWG Mayor Rob Keffer announced the town will be receiving a government grant of over $500K to support the town's transit infrastructure.
"Today I am very pleased to announce that Bradford West Gwillimbury is the recipient of $576,450 in new transit funding," announced Mulroney.
Across the province, the government is investing more than $7.3 billion in transit infrastructure over 10 years through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP). This cost shared program is a collaboration between the federal government, provinces and territories and its recipients.
The ICIP will encompass more than $30 billion in combined federal, provincial and other partner funding, under four priority areas, including rural and Northern infrastructure. It will help support projects that improve the quality of life for those in rural and northern areas, like BWG.
"We're building and improving transit, roads and bridges, recreational facilities, cultural centres and local water infrastructure," said Mulroney. "We're connecting people to places and jobs where they work, medical appointments, classes at school and back home to their families all on time."
Mulroney added the grants will also help to promote economic recovery and job creation.
The grant breakdown for BWG includes $230,580 of federal funding, $192,131 provincial and $153,739 municipal for the replacement of two transit vans which have become unreliable and costly to run. The funds will also allow for the purchase of an additional transit van to add to the town's fleet. The new vans will be equipped with "Smart Bus" technologies for better customer service.
"I want to thank the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury and the federal government for their significant investments in these projects," said Mulroney. "Bradford is the second fastest growing municipality in Ontario and we need to be able to develop a transportation system that meets the needs of our population here."
MP Davidson was pleased to share the news with the Town of BWG, and thanked MPP Mulroney for her efforts with York-Simcoe projects.
"We all know how important transit is and how much we have to be pushing for infrastrucutre and transit funding, especially in the middle of the pandemic that we're in," said Davidson.
Mayor Keffer thanked Davidson and Mulroney for their support in obtaining the funding.
"On behalf of the the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury, I'd like to share our gratitude for this grant which will allow us to make significant improvements to our local transit system," said Keffer.
Since the launch of BWG Tranist in May 2014, Mayor Keffer noted it has become an integral part of life for many in the community, connecting them to the local services, work and school. Ridership has been increasing, with a yearly increase of 60 percent.
"We have worked hard to respond to the needs of our residents, adding more routes and stops to service new hubs of activity," said Keffer.
As the Town of BWG continues to grow, Keffer noted it is critical to contunuously expand the transit service to help those get to where they need to be.
"This grant from the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program will allow us to continnue that progress and we are grateful to all the levels of government involved in providing these grants."
