RICHMOND HILL, ON, Dec. 19, 2012 /CNW/ - The Honourable Peter Kent, Minister of the Environment and Member of Parliament for Thornhill; Costas Menegakis, Member of Parliament for Richmond Hill; Reza Moridi, Member of Provincial Parliament for Richmond Hill; Dr. Helena Jaczek, Member of Parliament for Oak Ridges-Markham; and David Barrow, Mayor of the Town of Richmond Hill, marked the start of construction of a new transit service facility.
The facility will be used to maintain and store York Region Transit/Viva transit vehicles, and will be built near Leslie Street and 16th Avenue in the Headford Business Park. This state-of-the-art facility includes energy-efficient, and environmentally-friendly features and will be built to meet LEED Silver certification.
"The Government of Canada is pleased to invest in this important job-creating project that will support efficient, environmentally sustainable transportation in York Region," said Minister Kent. "We are working together with provincial and municipal partners to improve public transit infrastructure here in the GTA, and across the country."
"The McGuinty government is committed to better public transit for commuters in York Region," said MPP Moridi. "Our unprecedented investments in public transit will help reduce gridlock, strengthen our region's economy and keep our air clean."
"We're transforming York Region's rapid transit network, including projects that enhance transit operations," said Mayor Barrow. "This facility will help transit operate efficiently and reliably, so that our growing population can connect to places in and around York Region."
The total construction cost is approximately $132 million. The Government of Canada is contributing approximately $57 million, the Regional Municipality of York is providing $57 million and the Province of Ontario is providing $18 million.
The construction of the facility is part of a larger project that includes the purchase of 39 bus rapid transit vehicles and the construction of Cornell Terminal in the Town of Markham. The total estimated cost for this project is $170 million, with the federal government committing up to $85 million through the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund.
Canada's Economic Action Plan 2012 promotes new opportunities for growth, job creation and long-term prosperity. Strengthening infrastructure across the country is an important part of this plan. Thanks to the Government of Canada's leadership, and our strong economic and financial fundamentals, the Canadian economy has recovered from the global recession better than most other industrialized countries. Canada has been a leader among G-7 countries throughout the recovery with more than 883,000 net new jobs created since July 2009. Find out more about the opportunities in Economic Action Plan 2012 at www.budget.gc.ca/2012/home-accueil-eng.html.
Since 2003, the Ontario government has invested more than $13.4 billion in public transit in Ontario. Investing in public transit is part of the McGuinty government's plan to strengthen the economy. A strong economy protects the services that mean most to Ontario families — health care and education.
As York Region's plan for rapid transit, vivaNext's projects include building dedicated bus rapidways, subway extensions and transit terminals. For more information about the vivaNext plan and to sign up for specific project updates, please visit www.vivanext.com.
SOURCE: Transport Canada
Geneviève Sicard
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Denis Lebel
Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and
Communities, Ottawa
613-991-0700
David Salter
Minister's Office
Ontario Ministry of Transportation
Toronto
416-327-1815
Dale Albers
York Region Rapid Transit Corporation
905-886-6767, extension 1020
[email protected]
Media Relations
Transport Canada, Ottawa
613-993-0055
Bob Nichols
Communications
Ontario Ministry of Transportation
Toronto
416-327-1158
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