swota

VIA Rail Promises More Trains for London

May 12, 2015 by swota

The Southwestern Ontario Transportation Alliance, meeting in London on Thursday May 7, 2015, welcomed the promise of seven daily trains between London and Toronto by January 2016.

Speaking to the London Chamber of Commerce on April 28, VIA Rail President and CEO Yves Desjardins-Siciliano outlined plans to reroute the Sarnia-Toronto service through Brantford and to add an afternoon train in each direction between London and Toronto.

“Our vision for Southwestern Ontario is of an integrated transportation system with London as a hub, and we’re encouraged to find that VIA’s leadership is articulating a similar vision of a high performance network with reliable and frequent service,” said Southwestern Ontario Transportation Alliance President Terry Johnson.

“These promised additional services are a first step in the right direction, but on their own are not enough to reverse the damage done to our regional economy by past cuts to rail service and by lost intercity bus routes. We must keep up the pressure to ensure that the federal government invests in the resources VIA needs to execute this high performance strategy, and to replace 60-year-old equipment with modern, fully accessible trains.”

SWOTA’s Network Southwest public transportation action plan, presented to both provincial and federal politicians this spring, calls for seven daily trains on the London-Brantford-Toronto route, which would run through to Sarnia and Windsor as part of a package of measures that also includes connecting bus services to communities not on the rail network to restore vital public transport links between Southwestern Ontario communities.

Federal cuts to VIA Rail in 2011 led to a sharp reduction in services throughout the region, with Sarnia, St. Marys, Stratford, and Niagara Falls amongst the hardest hit.

Desjardins-Siciliano cited the need for better communication between the provincial federal governments as the main reason for the lack of good news regarding services to St. Marys and Stratford, while confirming that a multi-million dollar infrastructure investment to prepare the route for enhanced services will be completed this summer.

“For those communities to thrive, and to get the best value for the tax dollars already invested in infrastructure, we’ve got to get everyone to the table and find a way to bring those services back,” added Johnson.

Network Southwest – St. Thomas Public Forum

May 2, 2015 by swota

As our city grows, as young people reject the culture of the car for environmental and economic reasons, as the boomers age…

We never imagined our city, the Railway Capital of Canada, being without public transportation to London and the rest of Ontario.
We never imagined our citizens without a way to reach specialized medical services by public transportation.
We never imagined tourists being unable to access our city as a destination at convenient times.
We never imagined St. Thomas families being unable to connect and help each other outside the city using public transportation.
We never imagined gridlock as a way of life for travel to and from Toronto.

We need workable and affordable solutions.

Show that public transportation is important to our city by joining us at a public forum to present Network Southwest, an action plan for rapid solutions to our region’s transportation challenges.

With transportation analyst and government policy advisor:
Greg Gormick
President, On Track Strategies

Wednesday May 27, 2015
7.00 p.m. – 9.00 p.m.

St. Thomas CASO Station
750 Talbot Street, St. Thomas N5P 1E2
The CASO station is an accessible venue.

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Network Southwest Action Plan Unveiled

March 18, 2015 by swota

Greg Gormick presents the Network Southwest report to Al Strathdee, Mayor of the Town of St. Marys

Following a series of public forums across the region, the Southwestern Ontario Transportation Alliance unveiled its Network Southwest public transportation action plan at lunchtime on March 18, 2015, in St. Marys.

Al Strathdee, Mayor of the Town of St. Marys, announced a contribution to the cost of researching and presenting the report, which has been funded by contributions from community advocacy groups, businesses, and municipalities across the region.

Network Southwest will require an investment of $400 million over five years – equivalent to one kilometer of new subway tunnel – to purchase modern, Ontario-built trains, make safety and capacity improvements to the railway network to allow shorter journey times, and establish a network of bus routes to reconnect the dozens of communities that have lost their bus services since 2009. The full report is available online at www.swota.ca/network-southwest.

“There is nothing technologically or legislatively untested in the Network Southwest concept, which has been proven by the successful U.S. examples on which it is based. Nor is the cost onerous, especially in the context of recent Canadian transportation projects. What Network Southwest requires most is the will of both the federal and provincial governments. With the concept now in hand, the time has come to determine whether either or both levels of government are willing to investigate mobility solutions that will deliver major economic, social and environmental benefits to Southwestern Ontario at a time when such improvements are urgent,” said the report’s author, Greg Gormick.

SWOTA, a joint initiative of local advocacy groups across the region, commissioned the Network Southwest report with a mandate to address the needs of all communities in the region, stretching from Windsor, to Niagara Falls, to Owen Sound.

SWOTA President and local business leader Terence Johnson, an economics graduate from the University of Oxford, said: “Both the provincial government and VIA Rail are actively exploring major infrastructure projects that promise significant benefits ten years or more down the tracks. This is encouraging, but it doesn’t change that fact that communities that have lost all their bus services, like Wingham, or lost the key train that allowed people to commute, like St. Marys, require urgent action to prevent further economic damage. Triggering the network effect, making sure the whole system is integrated and easy to use, multiplies the impact of every dollar invested. We are delighted to have developed a practical and affordable plan to turn the tide right now.”

Public forums to present and discuss the Network Southwest vision have been held in Sarnia, St. Marys, and Stratford.

The next public forum is scheduled for April 8 at the London Public Library. SWOTA committee members are also meeting directly with MPs, MPPs, government departments, and transportation agencies.

Transport Forums Attract Press Coverage

March 18, 2015 by swota

Dan Mathieson, Mayor of Stratford, opening the Network Southwest Forum on February 12, 2015

Sarnia Public Forum, Saturday, January 31, 2015

http://www.theobserver.ca/2015/02/01/plan-unveiled-in-sarnia-for-regional-transportation-improvements

St. Marys Public Forum, Friday, February 6, 2015

http://www.southwesternontario.ca/community/governments-must-cooperate-on-improved-transportationsou/

http://stmarysindependent.com/category/2015/february-13th/

[Read more…]

Network Southwest – London Public Forum

March 15, 2015 by swota

A practical plan for affordable and convenient public transportation in Southwestern Ontario

London will host a public forum to present Network Southwest, an action plan for rapid solutions to our region’s transportation challenges.

With transportation analyst and government policy advisor:
Greg Gormick
President, On Track Strategies
Introduction by Phil Squire, London City Councillor, Ward 6

Wednesday April 8, 2015
5.00 p.m. – 7.00 p.m.

Wolf Performance Hall
London Public Library
251 Dundas Street, London, ON N6A 6H9
London Public Library is an accessible venue.

Download Poster