Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba.

Feds give $1M for active transportation, transit upgrades in rural Manitoba

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2024/06/27/feds-give-1m-for-a...

THE federal government is injecting more than $1 million to fund transportation upgrades for rural Manitobans.

The money will be used to build active transportation infrastructure and improve accessible transit service in rural communities throughout the province, the government announced in a news release Thursday.

“By investing in transportation infrastructure and services in rural communities in Manitoba, we’re broadening access to essential resources and helping Manitobans get to where they need to go more quickly,” Winnipeg MP Dan Vandal, the minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada, said in a statement.

The Town of Niverville will use its portion of the funding to build a new sidewalk and extend sections of an asphalt bike path that connect the community’s residential and commercial areas.

The municipalities of Glenboro-South Cypress, Oakland Wawanesa, Teulon, Argyle and Piney, as well as Buffalo Point First Nation, will purchase new transit vans and accessible buses. The vehicles will help people with mobility issues travel within their communities.

Elsewhere, the municipalities of West Interlake, Grahamdale and Coldwell will purchase a new vehicle and construct a garage to enhance existing transit services and expand the medical shuttle network.

Further studies and transit plans are being funded in Berens River First Nation and for a group of municipalities in southwestern Manitoba, including Piney and La Broquerie, the release said.

The funding totals $1,051,329 and is sourced from the federal government’s active transportation fund and the rural transit solutions fund.

Municipal governments are contributing $159,496, and the Province of Manitoba is providing $7,500. Other sources are providing an additional $160,064, the release said.

fpcity@freepress.mb.camailto:fpcity@freepress.mb.ca