The province’s $2-billion commitment to expand transit will be split 40-40-20 between Edmonton, Calgary and the rest of the province, Transportation Minster Luke Ouellette announced Tuesday.
This means $800 million each for the Edmonton and Calgary regions and $400 million for other municipalities.
Opposition parties are wondering when the government will actually make the money available given this year’s budget only contained $70 million for the Green TRIP program.
“It just seems that this is more posturing and trying to look green than actually being green,” said Wildrose Alliance MLA Paul Hinman.
NDP leader Brian Mason noted the government has re-announced Green TRIP about four times in two years but still hasn’t provided municipalities with a firm timeline.
“It’s like a ghost, it’s not really there,” he said. “It keeps appearing.”
Ouellette said the government will fund the program over the coming years but didn’t have specifics.
“We’re in a whole different economic time than we were when we announced Green TRIP in 2008,” Ouellette said. “But our premier, Premier Ed Stelmach, always wants to make sure that if he announces something or says something that this government’s going to follow through on it, and that’s what we’re doing.”
The province will make Green TRIP money available as municipalities progress through the construction of projects rather than in advance, Ouellette said. Municipalities must fund one-third of the capital costs.
Examples of eligible projects are LRT expansion, park and ride facilities, bus terminals and transit vehicles. Applications must include a solid business case showing the municipality can afford to operate the project.
Municipalities can begin applying immediately for future projects or those that have been tendered or started since July 8, 2008. Ouellette expects most of the demand for funding will come in future years as projects roll out.
“Every year we plan on having some money budgeted toward Green TRIP,” he said.
St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse is hoping the city can tap into the fund to help build a park and ride centre at the southern fringe of St. Albert, where Edmonton’s future northwest LRT leg is pegged to terminate.
St. Albert doesn’t have money allocated in its capital plan for the project, which is expected to cost around $12 million.
“We’ve got to get our priorities together and see if we can fund our third,” Crouse said.
Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel said he was looking forward to expanding the city’s LRT network but acknowledged park and ride facilities were also a priority in the region. Preliminary estimates peg the cost of the northwest LRT leg at $1.1 billion.
Crouse noted that $800 million isn’t a lot for the entire Capital region to share.
“It’s not much money, but it’s a start,” he said.
