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Yk could reap $850,000 for transit

Jason Unrau
Northern News Services
Wednesday, April 18, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - Mayor Gord Van Tighem and Municipal Affairs Minister Michael McLeod were all smiles Friday after $1.7 million was made available to the territories through the federal Public Transit Fund.

NNSL Photo/Graphic

Secretary to the minister of Finance, Diane Ablonczy, signs the Northwest Territories Public Transit Agreement with Municipal and Community Affairs Minster Michael McLeod, Friday at the Explorer Hotel. The deal will fund transit initiatives in the NWT. - Jason Unrau/NNSL photo

All 33 communities are eligible to make proposals for a chunk of the cash but it is the criterion that no one community would receive more than half that makes the mayor happy.

"We're probably going to end up with almost as much that was originally thought," said Van Tighem, referring to an earlier Paul Martin Liberal government announcement that the NWT would get $1 million for "existing public transit systems."

As Yellowknife was the only community with public transit, many anticipated the entire sum was bound for the capital.

A change in federal governments at the beginning of 2006 put the funding in limbo, while issues over promises made to Yellowknife boiled over at city council and in the legislative assembly.

Former Yellowknife city councillor Blake Lyons told Yellowknifer last year that "in no uncertain terms" the city was promised $1 million while Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins hounded McLeod over the funding in the legislature.

But McLeod said that despite broad guidelines from the federal government, it would allow the territories some flexibility.

"Communities in the North require supports aiding them to respond to unique transportation challenges and this will provide the opportunity for communities to make their own decisions about transit priorities," said McLeod.

Eligible project under the NWT Transit fund will include capital costs of transit systems - buses, handy vans - as well as "active transportation infrastructure" that includes bike and walking trails.

According to Van Tighem, Yellowknife is looking at a pedestrian underpass linking the Frame Lake and Niven Lake trails and, "Something within the existing (public) transportation."