Transportation Struggles

Wednesday, 14 January 2015 05:58

Tillsonburg Transportation Steering Committee is looking for Town Council's support to apply for a provincial grant.

TILLSONBURG - The Tillsonburg Transportation Steering Committee will have to wait until later this month to see if they have the Town's support to go after a provincial grant.

The Committee is looking to submit an application to The Ministry of Transportation’s Community Transportation Pilot Grant Program for $100,000 to help address the transportation struggles of the community.

Chair of the Tillsonburg Transportation Steering Committee John Verbakel says there are many things funding could go towards. "The biggest part of this is having someone who is able to concentrate their efforts, along with the Transportation Steering Committee, on coordinating all of this and getting all of the information together. A part of the money would be used to acquire the software and the technologies that are required to do a really efficient job at this and there is stuff out there." He says money could also be used to acquire another vehicle for the Multi Service Centre, which already has a wheel chair accessible van that Verbakel believes is over used.

Before the application can be submitted to the Ministry of Transportation, the Committee needs council's approval. "There were lots of questions that were asked at the meeting and they are all excellent questions, but they still need to see the completed application form -- which we don't have completed at this point but certainly it will be within the next week or so -- so they can have a look at it and give us our endorsement. The Ministry requires that whatever municipality is applying, that there is an endorsement by the town itself." Verbakel says the application also requires the support of a lead agency that is already partially in the business of providing transportation to it's clients, which in this case would be Community Living Tillsonburg.

Verbakel says there was a study conducted a few years ago in the Town which had 526 respondents and 95 percent of those people believed having access to transportation in Tillsonburg was very important. "Whether we are successful or not in terms of applying for the Ministry funding, I know that the Transportation Steering Committee are still going to continue doing the work that it does because we certainly feel that doing what we set out to do is important for this community."

Verbakel presented to Tillsonburg council Monday but will have to return on the 26th for approval from the Town.

The deadline for applications is January 30.