| Waterloo-Wellington
Transportation Action Plan Launched by MPP Ted Arnott
In
January of this year Waterloo-Wellington MPP Ted Arnott
asked the municipalities he represents to recommend
their top priorities for transportation in the next
five years, and beyond. In a little over a month all
eleven municipalities responded to his request and provided
him with more than 40 ideas that he is bringing forward
as the Waterloo-Wellington Transportation Action Plan.
In a letter dated March 17, 2003, to Transportation
Minister Frank Klees, Mr. Arnott has asked for a meeting
to consider the advice he has received.
“Transportation
is vital to our development, job creation, and our quality
of life. The decisions we make now will greatly influence
the kinds of communities we will have in the future.
I value all of the recommendations I have received from
the municipalities, these have formed the Waterloo-Wellington
Transportation Action Plan, and I will advocate as strongly
as possible in support of that plan,” said Mr. Arnott.
Mr.
Arnott requested that the Minister of Transportation
meet with him and representatives from the Regional
Municipality of Waterloo, the County of Wellington,
and the local municipal councils.
He
had been scheduled to make a presentation in the Legislature
on the Action Plan on March 17th, however, it was recently
announced that the House will now resume sitting on
April 30, 2003. He advised the Minister that he intends
to raise the subject in the Legislature as soon as possible.
In
the recommendations that came forward there is recurrent
support for the corridor study of Highway 7/8 between
Kitchener and Stratford, a new four-lane Highway 7 from
Kitchener to Guelph, and assistance for Wellington County
for Highway 24 from Guelph to Cambridge to pay for upgrades
to the downloaded stretch of that road. There was also
strong support for a repaired and upgraded Highway 6
from Fergus to Mount Forest, Waterloo Region’s Light
Rapid Transit Initiative, and OSTAR funding for transportation
related projects.
In
requesting the advice from municipalities, Mr. Arnott
outlined a number of guiding principles. These included
enhancing safety, supporting job creation and economic
growth, recognizing how individuals choose to travel
and public transit needs.
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