Regina city council has pushed forward funding for a master plan that will take a closer look at everything that has to do with transit in the Queen City.
The plan will span over the next 25 years, examining items such as paratransit, increased ridership and fare collection methods among other topics. $440,000 will be invested towards the master plan with $100,000 being taken from the 2020 operating budget and another $340,000 drawn from the 2021 budget.
Regina Mayor Michael Fougere said city council feels it’s important to renew and upgrade.
“We want to make sure we’re doing the right thing in the right way, which means we have to do a review,” explained the mayor. “One example is do we want a hub downtown? How do we support merchants downtown? Do people that work downtown want to take the bus versus driving? It’s to amplify the discussion.”
Fougere mentioned that it’s both short and long-term visions with plans to engage with the community. Research and outreach will include a peer review with other Canadian cities to determine the best practices within the transit industry that could be applied to Regina.
“I would like to see a transit system that is used by many people. But I also want to see our downtown continue to be vibrant. It’s the centre of our commercial and retail side,” added Fougere.
The city expects the length of time to complete the plan will be at least a year.
