Transit for a healthy city
(A group in the west end of Toronto have voiced objections to the decision by the Ontario government to build a rail link from Union Station to Pearson using the diesel trains along the existing rail line that goes to Brampton, Georgetown and beyond. Barry Lipton, a member of CommunityAIR, sent us this report. Editor)
http://www.cleantrain.ca/index.php
I went to the Clean Train Coalition meeting tonight. There were people from communities all along the train corridor. It is not being led by people from Weston but by people from the Junction and Liberty village and other communities.
http://www.cleantrain.ca/index.php
They support the transit plans but are pushing extremely hard to electrify the lines. There will be upwards of 500 trains a day coming and going from Union station. GO and Metrolinx are so heavily into diesel that they cannot even think about electrification.
Here briefly is their program: Transit for a healthy city. They have three main demands
1 Electrify the lines - no diesel pollution
2 Neighbourhood connections - prevent the division and isolation of communities
3 Accessibility - ensure the public infrastructure is accessible and affordable to the people in the communities in the corridor
They have an extensive group process with many people involved. The group has an eight person Coordinating Committee and the following action groups
Media
Legal Strategy
Political Strategy
Research & Data & FAQs
Health
Outreach
Website Content & Functionality
Campaign Ideas & Action
Campaign Goals Long & Short
Fund Raising Action
Branding
They have a lot of energy now but it is really early days and they have a lot to do in a very short time.
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