GETTING THINGS DONE

February 21, 2019 · 0 Comments

By Mayor Tom Mrakas

The Federal government has just announced that they are pledging $595 million in federal funding for Barrie GO line corridor improvements.
While this is good news, it’s good news with a bit of an asterisk.
It is election time and I am concerned about whether this is a real announcement or is it just an election promise that never materializes.
My concerns are shared by many, especially in light of the fact that while the Feds have made this announcement to provide much needed funding to the Barrie line, the Provincial Government just recently announced that they are pausing on the Mulock GO station to take a “development driven approach” that would look at having the development community fund any new station.
Relief on the Barrie line is urgently needed.
In the past year alone, the Aurora GO station has seen its ridership go up by 30.5% – the highest of all stations on the Barrie Line.
With the real possibility that the Mulock station may never get built, parking needs at the Aurora GO Station will be of the upmost priority.
As Prime Minister Trudeau said, when speaking to the proposed federal funding for the Barrie line, “It’s frustrating to be crammed into an already full train or miss your ride because you can’t find a spot to park.”
It was as if he was speaking directly about the reality that our residents deal with on a daily basis!
I will be speaking with Metrolinx in addition to our MPs to ensure that, given the explosive growth in ridership at the Aurora GO station, Aurora becomes a priority and that the announced funding will be used to help resolve the parking problem in Aurora because the status quo is unacceptable.
That is all for this week. As always if you would like to get into contact with me please feel free to contact me anytime by phone 905-727-3123 ext. 4746 or by email tmrakas@aurora.ca, and if you would like to sign up for more newsletters and Council updates then please visit Mrakas.ca/contact to join the growing list of Aurorans that are staying informed.