Duane Hicks
A district transportation committee wants to address the lack of public transportation for area residents, and create accessible and affordable public transportation between Rainy River and Fort Frances.
But it also needs leaders and residents to come together to speak as one voice.
Gerd O’Sullivan, who sits on the Regional Planning Group’s transportation committee, spoke about the issue here Saturday during the annual general meeting of the Rainy River District Municipal Association.
“We’re not talking about going to Winnipeg or Thunder Bay, we’re talking about getting across the Rainy River District,” she stressed.
“We have very limited transportation.
“Fort Frances is not doing too badly—they have dial-a-service and they do have their handi-van, as well,” O’Sullivan noted. “But the west end of the district really basically has nothing.
“We have the handi-van in Emo which, at the moment, is doing some runs to Wal-Mart and is very expensive to run,” she added.
“So this committee has gotten together and what we’d like to see is accessible and affordable public transportation across the district,” O’Sullivan continued.
“There are kids going to school—Con College, Rainy River [Community] College. There are people that need to go to the bank, to the grocery store,” she explained.
“We are not just talking about the elderly going to the doctor, which is what the LHIN’s van is for—it can take seniors, but not anybody else, to their doctor’s appointment.”
RRDMA delegates were urged to create interest in their community and contact any municipal or provincial government affiliates with which they’re acquainted to ask for assistance in the pursuit of solutions, as well as get involved themselves.
“We decided that what we need to do, because obviously nothing much has happened [over the years], is speak as a district,” O’Sullivan said.
“We need to get together,” she stressed.
At this point, between the Regional Planning Group and transportation committee, more than two dozen agencies, businesses, and programs are involved, including the Township of Emo and Town of Fort Frances, but more people are needed, O’Sullivan said.
“What we need now is the municipalities because if we are going to be approaching some ministry for money, we’d like to speak as one voice—the whole district, not just Fort Frances or Emo or Rainy
River,” she argued.
“We need to stand as a district because the need is right across the district, not just in one area.
“We need a regular service going from the west to Fort Frances and back,” she later reiterated.
O’Sullivan said the transportation committee will be meeting later this month (the date is still to be determined) at the NCDS office in Fort Frances, and she encouraged municipal reps to attend.
To find out the exact date and express interest in attending, contact career advisor Crystal George at NCDS at 274-2282 or via e-mail at ca4@cworks.ca
The Regional Planning Group was created during a meeting of community agencies, initiated by Northern Community Development Services (NCDS), back in July.
At that time, the agencies identified a number of district services lacking. At a follow-up meeting in September, public transportation was targeted for immediate action.
Agencies, businesses, and stakeholders then were invited to attend a meeting Oct. 5 to discuss transportation issues, where they found transportation issues have been around for many years and that a unified approach was needed to solve them.
A second meeting of the transportation committee was held in November to look at available resources and gather information.
The committee determined:
•there are limited transportation services in Rainy River District;
•North Air Services is willing to expanded upon current services if funding can be secured;
•the Township of Emo has a handicapped-accessible van not being used to its potential (there currently are trial runs being offered once a week to and from Wal-Mart);
•there is no form of public transportation in the west end of the district; and
•agencies are willing to work together to come up with solutions.
The transportation committee would like to see:
•accessible and affordable public transportation to access education, sustain employment, attend appointments, and run everyday errands (grocery shopping, banking, etc.);
•a flexible schedule to cover periods beyond the current “Dial-A-Ride” time slots;
•transportation to run beyond town limits at an affordable price;
•prospective funding sources; and
•overall independence for citizens in need.
