Why rapid transit is important in Fort Whyte constituency

The map above shows the impact of a rapid transit system for Winnipeg.

Thirty-five minutes is used as the critical time point at which people are much more likely to use transit. The map shows the situation without and with rapid transit.

As you can see (orange line) without rapid transit, almost no-one in Fort Whyte constituency can reliably reach downtown by transit in 35 minutes. With rapid transit (red line) almost everyone in Fort Whyte constituency could reach downtown reliably in 35 minutes by transit. The difference is dramatic and this is why rapid transit is so important to people in Fort Whyte constituency. In our door-to-door efforts this seems more apparent to those in the eastern half of the constituency, but it will also significantly affect those in the western half of the constituency.

Some people I have talked with have emphasized the need to improve the present bus system in Fort Whyte constituency first. The problem is that unless there is rapid transit, the ridership in Fort Whyte is unlikely to increase enough to make adding extra buses and extra routes worthwhile. There is a critical need to have rapid transit because it will increase the ridership and this will increase the demand for more buses and bus routes in Fort Whyte constituency so that people will be served better.

Even those who drive a car and will not use rapid transit, will benefit from rapid transit. The benefit comes because the more people who ride transit, the fewer cars there will be on the road, and the less traffic congestion there will be. Fixing traffic congestion in Fort Whyte needs better road and highway design. It also needs rapid transit.

When it comes to Rapid Transit, Jean Paterson is a strong supporter. She is a strong advocate for Rapid Transit coupled with innovative park-and-ride solutions to help people in Fort Whyte constituency.

In contrast to the efforts of Jean Paterson, the Conservative candidate, Hugh McFadyen, worked together with Sam Katz at the time the decision was made to postpone the development of rapid transit. I have talked with individuals who know, and they say that if the decision had not been made to postpone rapid transit in 2004, then the rapid transit between downtown to the University would be well on its way to being built.

Fort Whyte voters have a choice in the by-election on December 13. They can vote for someone who is a strong supporter of rapid transit - and a strong supporter of efforts to reduce traffic congestion - Jean Paterson, or they can vote for someone who was part of the team which delayed the development of rapid transit in Winnipeg.