The City of Quinte West is looking to get a good chunk of federal funding to create a transit link between it and neighbouring Belleville.
The city will submit a grant to the Investing in Canada Infrastructure program, asking for $660,560 towards the more than $1.6 million project, which would connect to Loyalist College, Belleville General Hospital and other areas of Belleville.
Mayor Jim Harrison tells Quinte News it’s a big ask for an expensive project, but the route between the cities would make a major difference for residents.
If the project were to go ahead, the plan would be to have the province pay a little more than $550,000, with the city chipping in just over $440,000, along with another $250,000 annually in operations costs, which would be added to the 2020 budget.
Funding from lClP could be used to support the following project components:
- Feasibility study to guide future growth of Quinte Access ($150,000)
- Purchase of four (4) low floor public transit buses ($800,000)
- Purchase of one (1) low floor specialized bus ($130,000)
- On board surveillance system for all buses ($80,000)
- Smart card technology/fare boxes for all buses ($120,000)
- lnstallation of bike racks on all buses ($21,000)
- lnstallation of collision avoidance system on all buses ($25,000)
- Construction of 4 new bus shelters ($110,000)
- Contingency (Required) – $215,400
- Operation costs (ie driver wages, fuel, insurance) would be added to the Operational Budget in 2020, when the new route is expected to launch.
The financial commitment breakdown for the project looks like this:
- Total lClP Funding Request: $1,651,400
- Federal portion: $660,560
- Provincial portion: $550, 411.63
- Municipal portion: $440,428.37
- Cost of Operation: $250,000 (added to 2020 budget)
