Belleville councillors Paul Carr (left at front) and Bill Sandison address public concerns about the lack of public transit in Thurlow ward. Photo by Thomas Goyer, QNet News
By Thomas Goyer [1]
CORBYVILLE – Belleville city councillors Paul Carr and Bill Sandison met with Thurlow ward residents Tuesday night to discuss the city’s budget and field questions about upcoming initiatives.
The public meeting, held at the Gerry Masterson Thurlow community centre [2] at 516 Harmony Rd., was attended by about 50 residents.
Public transit was a big focus throughout the evening as many residents expressed their concerns that area where they live has no system in place.
Carr and Sandison acknowledged the importance of bringing a transit system to Thurlow, but said they are doubtful that anything will be in place until the fall of 2020.
The Thurlow area has had two public transit pilot programs. The first was in 2004 and the most recent in 2015. Both were cancelled because of lack of ridership.
Carr said he thought the most recent attempt was poorly executed. Ridership was starting to pick up right as the service was cancelled, he said.
The key to a new service is communicating the bus schedule and finding routes that best serve the area, Carr said.
“It’s important to hear from residents to determine do they need the service or want the service, what they are willing to pay and what it’s going to look like.”
If the ridership is substantial, council would look into bringing an on-demand service to Thurlow, similar to the on-demand Route 11 [3] bus that currently operates in Belleville, he said.
During the question period, one resident said he believes a transit system would help bring people into the community because it would give workers and students from Loyalist College the ability to live in Thurlow and still get to work and school.
Carr and Sandison encouraged the residents to take part in a survey that council is going to release soon to gauge community interest in a transit system.
Another discussion point was the new Costco [4] complex expected to come to Bell Boulevard next year.
The councillors said they couldn’t answer questions about other retail outlets being built in the new complex, but said they expect it will take five years to fill the space.
A shortage of family doctors was also a point of concern for some residents.
“I think the (doctor recruitment) program that we have had in place for a good number of years has been very, very successful,” Sandison said. “Five (doctors have been brought in) per year for the last little while, and it was six last year, I believe. And I think we’re in the same ballpark for this year.”
In response to residents’ concerns about potholes on Highway 37 and the danger to drivers was called, Carr said that both health care and the highway are provincial jurisdiction and residents should be continuing to reach out to Hastings-Lennox and Addington Conservative MPP Daryl Kramp.