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| Transport Action Hotline - 29 January 2010 | |||||||||||
In this issue...This is the Transport Action Hotline, issue number 1057, for 29 January 2010.
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1 - Calendar
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2 - Obama passenger rail investment: U.S. gets jump on us"U.S.-bound travellers from several Canadian cities stand to benefit from $8 billion in funding awarded Thursday by the Obama administration to speed up passenger-rail service and introduce high-speed trains across more than a dozen routes in the United States," Canwest News Service reported on Jan. 18."But some warn that Canada might lose job opportunities and economic benefits if it doesn't launch its own projects in its largest cities. "We can't let the Americans get the jump on us," said federal Liberal transport critic Joe Volpe. "We're better equipped than they are to do this and we can't have a small-thinking government... stand in the way," Canwest's Mike De Souza wrote. http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Obama+rail+package+could+benefit+service+Canada/2496400/story.html
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3 - Projects in California, Florida, Illinois are the biggest winners of high-speed rail grants"High-speed rail projects in California, Florida and Illinois are among the big winners of $8 billion in grants to be announced Thursday by the White House - the start of what some Democrats tout as a national rail-building program that could rival the interstate highways begun in the Eisenhower era," the Associated Press reported on Jan. 28.Thirteen rail corridors in 31 states received funds. ... Some of the money will go toward trains with top speeds of 110 mph, while others - such as the $400 million allotted to Ohio to connect Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati by rail - will go toward trains traveling no faster than 79 mph," Joan Lowy wrote for AP. http://www.ble.org/pr/news/newsflash.asp?id=4937
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4 - Transport Action Canada supports Northern MPs in final push to save railOn Jan. 28 the Office of Bruce Hyer, New Democrat MP reported: "We strongly support public investment in Northern Rail" said David Jeanes, President of Transport Action. "We have been working closely with community groups, including the Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains, to find solutions to benefit the regional economy. Rail plays an absolutely crucial role," added Transport Action's founding president, Harry Gow.""Investing in essential northern rail infrastructure like the Sault-Sudbury line would pay immediate dividends for industries such as Essar Steel in Sault Ste. Marie and Domtar in Espanola, linking them to other freight lines and markets," said MP Bruce Hyer (Thunder Bay-Superior North), after a meeting with The Railway Association of Canada. "Rail investment in the HCR grows our Northern economy, helps the environment, and keeps a truly pan-Northern transportation network viable. If these short line tracks are ripped up, future opportunities disappear."
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5 - A review of Saskatchewan bus routes is the latest blow to rural travel"This week ... the provincially funded Saskatchewan Transportation Company, announced it was reviewing its smaller routes for possible cuts. Launched in 1946 specifically to link Saskatchewan's many hamlets with larger transportation networks, STC has seen a stunning plunge in ridership in recent years - from 648,000 in 1990 to 262,000 last year. ... "It's just the era we're living in," said Jim Reiter, the Saskatchewan minister responsible for STC. "People are just not riding the bus like they did in years past," the Globe and Mail reported on Jan. 22."Other towns point to a more hopeful future. Located one hour outside Ottawa, the hamlet of Maxville lost its intercity bus service in the mid-1970s, a move that triggered its slow decay, according to Harry Gow, a transportation expert and former University of Ottawa professor. "Fast-forward to 2008 and the place gets a bus, and very suddenly it is no longer a basket case." Locals echo that sentiment. Mary McCuaig, who helped set up the grassroots transit authority that now serves the surrounding region, said that one small town in the region has doubled in size since the bus arrived, and that the fleet size has grown from five to nine in less than two years. Dr. Gow has helped set up a number of smaller transit authorities throughout Quebec, where the provincial government has provided carriers with tax breaks on fuel and small bailout grants," the Globe's Patrick White wrote. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/back-country-buses-on-a-road-to-nowhere/article1439881/
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6 - Déjeuner-bénéfice 2010 de Transport 2000 Québec : Julie Boulet, ministre des Transports, sera conférencière d'honneurLe président du conseil de Transport 2000 Québec, monsieur Jean Léveillé, a le plaisir d'annoncer que madame Julie Boulet - ministre des Transports - sera conférencière d'honneur à l'occasion du cinquième déjeuner-bénéfice annuel de l'Association. L'événement se déroulera dans la Métropole au Centre Sheraton le lundi 15 février prochain sous le thème : «L'intégration des modes de transport et la modernisation des transports collectifs».Le président accueillera nombre de décideurs et de personnalités de haut niveau à sa table d'honneur - outre la ministre - tels que le nouveau PDG de Via Rail Canada monsieur Marc Laliberté, le PDG d'Aéroports de Montréal monsieur James Cherry et celui de l'Agence métropolitaine de transport monsieur Joël Gauthier, le président du conseil de la STM monsieur Michel Labrecque, le président de l'Association des conseils intermunicipaux de transport monsieur Jean-Luc Labrecque, les PDG de Dessau monsieur Jean-Pierre Sauriol et monsieur Raymond Bachant du groupe Bombardier transport Amérique du Nord. D'autres confirmations suivront. Transport 2000 procédera entre autres à la remise des Prix Guy-Chartrand, qui visent à souligner le leadership exceptionnel exercé par des individus pour soutenir l'amélioration et le développement des transports collectifs, que ce soit au niveau national, régional ou local, dans trois catégories spécifiques : action et mobilisation des usagers, développement et amélioration du transport collectif, personnalité marquante du domaine du transport collectif.
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7 - Transport Action Atlantic to work on Acadian Bus Lines hearingsOn Jan. 28 the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board announced hearings in Wolfville concerning proposed bus service cuts. The same day Acadian, at the Board's request, released a 105-page document of 2008 and 2009 traffic counts for all routes. Transport Action's John Pearce said: "Transport Action is concerned about the lack of hearings in eastern Nova Scotia." He said the group is studying the numbers and notes: "The Bangor numbers are muddied as they are listed for the whole Moncton-Bangor runs, not segmented to show Saint John-Bangor traffic."Transport Action will also request a hearing about "the very awkward schedules in the Acadian proposal and the loss of all departures from Sydney and Halifax after noon, loss of connections with VIA in Truro, and loss of even bus connections from Quebec and west eastbound from Truro," Pearce said. The Utility Review Board hearing into cutting Digby-Kentville service to will be held in Wolfville at the Old Orchard Inn, Conference room at 10:30 am. Feb. 24/10. There will also be evening sessions if anyone requests an appearance at 7pm same day/place. An added session will be held, if requested, 7 pm. Feb. 25 at the Digby Legion, 92 Mount St.
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8 - STM oppose the plan to demolish the Bonaventure Expressway"Mayor Gérald Tremblay may like the Bonaventure Expressway plan, but his public transit agency says part of it should be sent back to the drawing board because it would penalize Montreal commuters. While commuters from the South Shore would see improved service thanks to a new dedicated bus corridor, Montreal buses would end up stuck in traffic, the Société de transport de Montréal contends. It wants reserved bus lanes added to the plan, at a cost of $3 million," the Montreal Gazette reported on Jan. 23."The Bonaventure plan has the support of the mayor, the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal and the transit users' group Transport 2000. Opposition parties, heritage activists and Griffintown residents oppose the plan. The bus corridor is the main sticking point; critics say it will increase noise and pollution and endanger pedestrians and 19th-century heritage buildings. Hearings by the Office de consultation publique de Montréal on the plan ended Tuesday. After the independent city advisory body makes its report public, the city's executive committee will have the final say on the project," the Gazette's Andy Riga reported. http://www.montrealgazette.com/corridor+idea+called+starter/2475067/story.html
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9 - La STM refuse d'emprunter le corridor Dalhousie« La Société de transport de Montréal (STM) refuse d'utiliser le futur corridor Dalhousie du projet de réaménagement de l'autoroute Bonaventure. Ce corridor serait réservé au transport en commun. Elle a expliqué son objection dans un mémoire qu'elle a présenté la semaine dernière à l'Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM). Selon la STM, le détour des autobus par le corridor Dalhousie ne ferait qu'augmenter leur temps de déplacement dans un secteur où l'achalandage du transport en commun est important (environ 11 000 passagers par jour). Elle préférerait que les autobus empruntent le futur boulevard urbain Bonaventure. Transport 2000, de son côté, approuve la création du corridor Dalhousie. Dans son mémoire, l'organisme indique entre autres que le sort des usagers sera grandement amélioré » Métro a rapporté le 25 janvier.
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10 - Unions name Roy Romanow to Air Canada Board of Directors"The Council of Unions representing organized Air Canada employees today announced they have chosen the Honourable Roy Romanow to be their representative on the airline's Board of Directors. Mr. Romanow is a former Premier of Saskatchewan and led the Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada. He is a member of the Privy Council and an Officer of the Order of Canada. Mr. Romanow is currently Senior Fellow in Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan. ... Labour representation on the airline's Board was negotiated by the unions in June 2009, when Air Canada asked its employee groups for cost-neutral collective agreements and support for a revised pension payments schedule, as part of a broader business restructuring," Marketwire reported on Jan. 22, 2010.
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11 - 14 pedestrians killed in the GTA: Toronto Police crack down on downtown jaywalkers"Officers could be seen at most busy downtown intersections between 9 a.m. and noon. ... By noon, 26 tickets had been issued at Bay and Front.; earlier in the day, 30 tickets were doled out to pedestrians at Dundas St. E. and Victoria St," the Toronto Star reported on Jan. 27. The same day Spacing Toronto's Dylan Reid urged the city to implement "Walking Strategy". For more details see Reid's blog at:http://spacing.ca/wire/2010/01/27/shell-shock-and-paralysis/
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12 - Careless drivers and vulnerable pedestrians; Lots of blame, little actionAccording to Barry Wellar, Distinguished Research Fellow, Transport Action Canada, there is nothing new about collisions between private motor vehicles and pedestrians. "This conflict was documented 12-14 years ago during the Walking Security Index project funded by the Region of Ottawa-Carleton. I have yet to see municipalities, the police or the courts do what is needed to resolve the problem." Dr. Wellar's recent report "Careless Driving and Public Safety: Curtailing the Pandemic by Raising the Bar" can be viewed at:http://www.transport-action.ca/en/wellar.html
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