A Calgary councillor is participating in a national campaign to battle traffic backups and pump up public transit through federal funding initiatives.
Councillor Diane Colley-Urquhart is asking Calgarians to join her in the Cut My Commute campaign and is among many other municipal leaders from across the country calling on the government for secure and stable federal infrastructure funding.
The undertaking is being led by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and includes an interactive transportation-themed challenge as part of the Cut My Commute campaign.
The goal of the campaign is to encourage Canadians to tell the federal government about infrastructure concerns in their areas.
The City of Calgary says its RouteAhead plan is an example of the type of public transit infrastructure that is required to take Calgary into the future.
The city estimates it will cost $12.9 billion in capital funding over the next 30 years to meet the demands of transit users.
The project is currently unfunded and officials say it will need a predictable source of funding such as the federal government’s anticipated long-term infrastructure plan to succeed.
Cut My Commute fast facts:
- The cost of traffic gridlock to the economy is estimated at $10 billion a year and rising
- Average commute in Canada’s largest cities is 63 minutes
- The number of working days a year the average Canadian commuter spends commuting is 32
- Cities and communities in Canada spend $12 billion annually on infrastructure
- More than $10 billion has been invested in transit over the past ten years
- 52% of municipal roads need to be fixed
- One in four waste water treatment facilities needs upgrading
The FCM says that the government currently invests about $3.25 billion in public infrastructure but the FCM would like to see that number increased to $5.75 billion.
