The City of Cold Lake has $680,000 in their pocket for the construction of a transit storage facility.
The province announced earlier today that this is one of 33 new projects being funded through the Alberta Community Transit Fund, which was launched in August of 2018.
In total, the government has earmarked $215-million to be distributed throughout Alberta.
"I think it's great; kudos to the government for recognizing transit is a big part of what Cold Lake has done in terms of our transit plan," expressed City of Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland.
The municipality will be using the funding to construct a garage for their city buses.
"We've identified one of our issues is the buses are exposed to the elements. This way, we can put some money towards building a garage for them." Copeland detailed.
The city had originally planned on building transit storage when they started construction on a new public works facility.
However, those plans may change now that Cold Lake is receiving financial support from the government.
"We will have to evaluate if this money has to be spent right now. Certainly, getting provincial money is going to be a big help, that's for sure," said Copeland.
Although the city has determined there's a need for a new public works building, they're not in a position to start construction.
Copeland explained, "We have some areas in the city where we would like to put the shop, but the problem we have right now, is we don't have the financial ability to fund the construction of the shop. We're just starting to get the design done, and then with this money earmarked to transit, we will have to find out if it comes with tight deadlines and evaluate exactly where we would put the transit shop."
Not all funding under the Alberta Community Transit Fund is dedicated to busing systems.
For example, the City of Edmonton will be using $11-million for the design and construction of a Light Rail Transit station, while the Municipal District of Big Horn will be setting their $14,400 aside for a transit feasibility study.
"These transit projects will help Albertans get to where they need to go in a timely and cost-efficient way while helping reduce pollution and ease (traffic) congestion. We know folks would rather spend time with their family versus sitting in traffic. That's why we're investing in new ways for Albertans to get where they're going," stated Minister of Transportation Brian Mason in a press release.
Copeland is grateful the province has allocated dollars to Cold Lake.
"This is going to help. That's a lot of money and we can put it towards a public works shop, or look at other options for the transit storage," he stated.
According to Copeland, the buses being exposed to the elements means they're not only worn down faster, but they also have a colder start up in the winter.
"It's something that we wanted to do... It's really exciting."
