St. Albert will work with Edmonton and Strathcona County to access the $800 million in provincial Green TRIP funding allotted to the region for transit projects, according to Mayor Nolan Crouse.
Crouse informed council of the development on Monday after being asked about the city’s status with Green TRIP dollars. While the funding was announced in June, city staff said they were unsure about how to apply for funding.
“What is important is that we’ve been asking the province to come forward with the money,” Crouse said after Monday’s council meeting. “We gave them a plan, they gave us money, now we owe them specifics.”
The province originally announced $2 billion in funding in 2008 as part of a provincial initiative to fund transit across the province. But with the global recession hitting not long after the announcement, the dollars were not made official until last month.
Transportation Minister Luke Ouellette announced in June that both the Capital region and Calgary area would receive $800 million each, with another $400 million for other municipalities throughout the province.
Crouse said St. Albert is working with Strathcona County and Edmonton on a funding application, though specific projects have not been identified.
All applications need the approval of the Capital Region Board (CRB) before they can be submitted to the province, according to Crouse, who is also chair of the region’s transit committee. He said the creation of Leduc’s transit system, light rail transit and park and rides were the top priorities for the region.
Sharon Shuya, manager of regional projects for the CRB, said there was no process yet for applications to the Green TRIP program. However, she did say the region’s transit plan would be part of the process for determining support for various projects.
“We all know the provincial requirements so that doesn’t stop municipalities from putting the applications together,” she said.
Shuya added the province would make the final decision about how much funding each municipality would receive.
