The future of London’s bus rapid transit project will be decided at a pair of meetings at city hall, as politicians debate which transit initiatives to put forward for $370 million in senior government funding.
A recent “unbundling” of the contentious plan, which divided it into five distinct transit projects, means councillors can decide to prioritize the entire system that was approved by last council. Or — in a move that some would consider the massive project’s death — councillors could choose to pursue funding for just some parts of the original BRT project.
Councillors, sitting as a committee of the whole at Monday’s strategic priorities and policy committee meeting, will debate staff recommendations and public feedback garnered from a well-attended participation meeting at Centennial Hall last week.
They’re expected to make a final decision on Tuesday.
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Bus rapid transit would come at a $500-million cost, and the City would fork over $130 million of the cash. The rest of the funding is available from upper levels of government, with the federal government committed to spending $200 million on transit projects in London and the province committed to $170 million.
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Dubbed the North Connection, the part of the system that would connect the downtown core to Masonville Place by way of Richmond Street with service to Western University, is the most expensive and arguably the most criticized project on a list of 19 transit and transit-supportive initiatives the City could prioritize for funding.
It would cost $147.3 million, compared to $131.8 million for the Wellington Road Gateway, $120.2 million for the East London Link, $72.2 million for the West Connection, and $28.5 million for the Downtown Loop.
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