Council votes to join new Regional Transit Services Commission.

Yesterday, Parkland County Council unanimously voted in favour of joining a new Regional Transit Services Commission (RTSC).

“This project shows immense collaboration for a region that is focused on the best interests of our residents.” said Mayor Rod Shaigec. “It recognizes, as the Metro-Mayors Report, Be Ready Or Be Left Behind noted, to be globally competitive a key success factor is inter-municipal transit.”

The primary goal for the RTSC Program is to create a unified transit service for the Edmonton Metropolitan Region that delivers efficient and affordable mobility options to all citizens and improves the movement of people across our rapidly growing region.

The decision comes after the release of the RTSC transition team's final report, Accelerating Transit in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which examined the overall feasibility of an integrated-service approach.

Councils of all 13 Edmonton Metropolitan Region municipalities will vote on whether their community will join the Commission over February and March 2020.

Municipalities who choose to join will jointly sponsor a proposal to the Government of Alberta to establish the Commission in Provincial Regulation. Public engagement activities will be undertaken at that time. The Government of Alberta must approve the new Commission before it can begin operation, tentatively by 2022.

For more information, visit www.parklandcounty.com/RTSC.

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Parkland County is a rural municipality located immediately west of Edmonton. Covering an area of 242,595 hectares (599,500 acres), it is one of the largest in size and one of the highest populated of all rural municipalities in Alberta. Parkland County has grown to a community of over 30,000 people and has seen generations of families continue to enjoy country living.

For more information about this advisory, please contact:

Communications

Phone:  780-968-8432

E-mail: communications@parklandcounty.com