Provincial funding will help the city of Kawartha Lakes, located about 86 miles northeast of Toronto, purchase new buses, implement new bus routes, install new stops, expand a bus maintenance facility and build a new transit hub.
Ontario is providing the city with C$790,000 (US$594,030) and the project is being nominated under the Public Transit stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP), a 10-year, C$30-billion (US$22.5 billion) fund that provides support to help municipalities repair or build critical infrastructure.
"These transit projects will make a real difference in people's lives," said Laurie Scott, Minister of Infrastructure. "Better public transit creates stronger communities. It helps people spend less time commuting to work and home, and more time doing the things they love with those they care about most."
Lindsay Transit has three bus routes in the town of Lindsay, which is the main population center in the city of Kawartha Lakes in east-central Ontario. In addition to the five new vehicles and facilities, the investment will go toward software upgrades, seven bus-mounted bike racks and more bike routes linking riders to road networks.
"Ontario is ready to get shovels in the ground and get people moving," said Scott. "With our plan, businesses, families and workers can count on an Ontario that will move faster than ever before."
Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney added, "Our government's transit vision is helping to get people moving by improving our transportation network and creating a better transit experience for commuters. We're continuing to work with municipalities to make smart investments in our roads and local transit services that keep them reliable for workers, families and businesses."
The project in the city of Kawartha Lakes is in addition to 56 new transit projects being nominated outside of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. These transit projects are worth more than C$100 million (US$75.29 million) in provincial funding. The projects are now with the federal government for final funding decisions as they are reviewed for eligibility under the ICIP program. Some projects could begin as soon as fall 2019.
