Towns exploring small-scale transit

A grassroots committee has identified a need for public transit in Black Diamond and Turner Valley. Now it’s deciding how to implement it.

In consultation with Calgary’s Watt Consulting Group, the Intermunicipal Public Transit Strategy Steering Committee drafted a report, which was presented to both town councils last month outlining the need to expand on existing public transportation after consulting with citizens and organizations since last fall.

The committee, consisting of town councillors, administration and the public, will spend the summer completing an implementation strategy with details on fiscal, logistical and governance implications.

Ruth Goodwin, Black Diamond mayor and committee member, said she’s excited about the future of public transit in the towns.

“I think that our timing is right,” she said. “The Province is very much engaged with rural communities to bring transportation to rural communities and to broaden what transportation means in rural Alberta.”

Last spring, the On-it regional commuter service was discontinued in the towns due to lack of ridership, yet both councils applied for and received $60,000 from the Green Transit Incentive Program (GreenTRIP), with each required to pay $15,000, to conduct a transportation study to determine transit needs.

After communicating with youth, seniors, low-income residents and those with limited mobility through workshops, open houses and surveys, the committee determined a need for public transit on a lesser scale than On-it.

The committee collaborated with local agencies and organizations that offer transit services to come up with ideas on how that would look.

“Our consultants have reached out to community and stakeholders leaders in an effort to capture everyone’s thoughts, the scope of which opens up opportunities that we may not have thought of before,” said Goodwin. “I’m really glad that we were able to touch base with a lot of community-based organizations to identify what they have, at what point they’re interested in being able to share their services and under what circumstances.”

Based on the feedback, the committee identified a need for a formalized volunteer driver network and on-demand service certain times of the day.

“This is the beginning of conversations we’re likely to have to reduce redundancies and wasting of tax dollars,” said Goodwin.

Tania Wegwitz, Watt Consulting Group transportation planner, said the study explored different markets for transportation and various service styles.

“We looked at things that are more flexible to provide people with a range of services that are possible and used in communities their size, which could be a viable option,” she said. “What we found was overall people saw real value in retaining the community access program as the base to build off of.”

Wegwitz said there are many ways to deliver the service using existing providers such as ride-shares, volunteers and non-profit and private organizations with vehicles.

“What needs to happen now is to go back to some of the key organizations we think would be really good partners in this approach and come up with the details of the operating strategy and create opportunities to move forward with implementation, should you wish to do so,” she said.

“We need to get feedback on their willingness to participate/support some of the service options and contribute some of the things that service might need and what that might look like in terms of partnership and in-kind support.”

The Town of Black Diamond received $346,000 in combined funding from the federal Public Transit Infrastructure Fund and the provincial GreenTRIP fund to purchase three transit vehicles for use in an intermunicipal transit service by Black Diamond and Turner Valley.

The municipalities must contribute an additional $104,000 and funds be spent by March 31, 2020.

Potential fares for service will likely range from $3 to $5 within the towns and $5 to $10 for regional service, depending on the style of service, said Wegwitz.

Turner Valley Deputy Mayor Cindy Holladay said she’s glad the committee explored small ways to provide transportation, rather than a larger model like On-it.

“I think they’re on the right track,” she said. “I am happy to see what they come up with because I think there will be small little improvements that we can make that will make difference in the communities going forward.

“It’s not something we have the in-house expertise or the time to do ourselves. To have someone lay it all out for us and to give us options and ideas and take time to speak to the community on it is a good thing.”