NEWS FILE PHOTO Transit users get on the bus downtown on Fourth Avenue S.E. in September. A switch to the transit system that came into place shortly before the municipal election and was reversed only weeks later became a big issue for candidates. The Medicine Hat News has chosen the saga as the story of the year for 2017.
gslade@medicinehatnews.com @MHNGillianSlade
The united voice of two advisory committees at the public services committee meeting to keep the new transit system was perhaps misleading, says the chair of the transit advisory committee.
A unanimous vote from the Social Development Advisory Board and the transit advisory committee did not have the support of chair Tracy Palmer. When Palmer spoke about the motion to public services, he did say he did not support it.
“I sure wanted to. I’ve been stewing over it ever since that I didn’t,” said Palmer.
Not all the committee members were present for the vote on the motion at the meeting on Sept. 20, a couple days after council voted 6-3 in favour of returning to the old transit system, said Palmer.
“Some of them excused themselves a little bit early and had to go back to work. I don’t recall the specifics and I don’t have the minutes yet,” said Palmer.
As the chair, Palmer was trying to be neutral and he did not personally vote on the motion. As CORE’s representative on the committee, he says he knew CORE was against the motion.
“Our executive director Rita Bessant has made it very clear that we do not, nor has CORE ever, supported changes to the transit system,” said Palmer, who believes CORE’s clients would like to return to the old system.
“I am 100 per cent opposed to the current changes in transit. I base that on complaints from individuals and staff members who cannot get to work on time,” Bessant told the News on Wednesday.
At the Sept. 20 meeting there was a representative from the city’s transit department to explain the implications of the old and new transit systems.
REDI Enterprises representative on the committee, Margaret Sheward, supports the motion to stick with the new transit system providing some “tweaks and adjustments” are made.
The sort of “tweaks” Sheward has in mind include service on weekends and holidays ,and taxi vouchers from transit when buses are not running.
Under the old system one of the biggest issues was that it took longer in general to reach your destination, said Sheward.
“Providing they do the tweaks that they need to do, it (the new system) has the possibility of being a beneficial system,” said Sheward, who believes most people on the transit advisory committee felt the same.
The feasibility and potential budget for making these “tweaks” was not known when the motion was passed.
“There was discussion but I can’t recall. I just remember that it was going to cost more going backwards,” said Sheward.
PSC did not adopt a resolution as a result of the motion to see council reopen debate on the issue but accepted the recommendation as “information” to be considered as part of the total future solution for transit.
The transit advisory committee was established as a sub-committee of SDAB to advise public services and council on issues related to public transportation, according to a city document.
It has members from a variety of organizations including REDI, CORE, the Senior Citizen’s Advisory Committee and the advisory committee of disability issues.
The motion in favour of keeping the new transit system was introduced by Jeff Decelle, pastor of Unity Lutheran, who is a representative from the Ministerial Association. The News was unable to reach him for comment on Wednesday.
