Mississauga Opens BRT Project Office
Higher Order Transit Moves Forward with Opening of City's BRT Project Office
Jan 23, 2007
The City of Mississauga is moving closer to a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system with the opening of the new BRT Project Office. This office, in conjunction with GO Transit, will oversee the design and construction of the Mississauga segment of the BRT, running parallel to Highway 403, Eastgate Parkway and Eglinton Avenue. The first phase of the BRT, expected to be completed by 2011, is from Mississauga City Centre easterly to Renforth Drive at the Mississauga/Toronto border.
The BRT is a provincially-planned rapid transit network, designed in conjunction with GO Transit as a roadway for use exclusively by buses. When fully completed, the GTA BRT will operate as a 100-kilometre stretch of grade-separated, two-lane, bus-only roads with stations from Oakville to Pickering.
"As Canada's sixth largest city and one of the major economic engines in the GTA, Mississauga needs to move ahead with our BRT plans," said Mayor Hazel McCallion. "We are serious about our plans to address the growing needs of residents, businesses and commuters to create an efficient, integrated and environmentally sustainable transportation system to serve and move people across the GTA. We're ready to go and we're going to begin. The opening of the BRT Project Office is a significant milestone in this process."
The estimated cost for the Mississauga portion of the BRT is $259 million, with cost sharing proposed by the City, GO Transit, the provincial government and federal government. The City is still awaiting $83 million in funding commitment from the federal government for the BRT project.
To lead the BRT Project Office, the City is pleased to announce the appointment of Geoff Wright as director. Mr. Wright, a professional engineer, was instrumental in designing and implementing MetroLink - Halifax's bus rapid transit project - where he served as Project Manager from 2003 to 2006. Wright is currently Manager of Transit Planning & Development of Metro Transit for Halifax Regional Municipality.
"I am thrilled to be leading the BRT Project Office as we move toward implementing a bus rapid transit system in Mississauga," said Geoff Wright. "A bus rapid transit system will play a key role in getting people out of their cars and onto transit. After we completed MetroLink, Halifax's BRT, there was a 27 per cent increase in new ridership - commuters who had previously used their cars and who had transferred to transit. A bus rapid transit system in Mississauga can make significant inroads in easing gridlock and encourage smarter commuting."
Mississauga City Council approved the establishment of a BRT Project Office in 2006 after receiving $63 million from the provincial government toward construction of the Mississauga portion of the GTA BRT. The City of Mississauga will lead the construction of BRT East, which will run through the City Centre toward Toronto along the Highway 403/Eglinton Avenue corridor, with service connections into the Bloor subway along Highway 427. GO Transit will lead the construction of BRT West from Winston Churchill Boulevard to Erin Mills Parkway connecting in with the existing bus by-pass shoulders through to City Centre along the Highway 403 corridor.
Mississauga is Canada's sixth largest city with a population of more than 700,000. With well-established infrastructure and state-of-the-art facilities, the City delivers quality municipal programs and services to its citizens. Mississauga is recognized as Canada's safest city.
Louroz