It’s an absolute farce the Town of Vermilion, which had a population of 3,948 in 2021, has a public transit system before Lloydminster.
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According to Focus, a company similar to Lloydminster’s Border City Connects, the Vermilion Transit Service connects 16 high-traffic stops in the town. A mall, Tim Hortons, and even a bank are highlights of the route, which, according to its website, runs Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
What’s even more interesting is the fact no public searches revealed a study to decide if it was necessary. It was just done, because someone saw a need.
Unlike Lloyd, where we’ve already done one study on the topic, a second study is being considered.
Even though the first study recommended four separate options, Mayor Aalbers recently stated, “There was some money set aside to do some future study this year in the budget.”
However, the duration, goals, and definitions of that study are currently unknown. It’s a favourite kick-the-can-down-the-line tactic for governments at all levels. If a government doesn’t want to do something, it can bury it forever in “studies” and make it someone else’s problem.
The province doesn’t escape culpability in this, either. They are currently conducting a healthcare needs assessment (read study) for the area and plan to send that study to another organization upon completion for
recommendations.
This is all fine and dandy, except many of the recommendations in the same 2013 study have yet to be accomplished. An expansion of the hospital and redevelopment of the Jubilee Home were both recommendations from that study. A dozen years later, neither has been done in any significant capacity.
Since moving here, I’ve heard that nothing happens in Lloydminster because we are trapped between two provinces that hardly ever agree, which means separate voices provincially and federally.
What that should mean is more people are advocating for what we need here daily, and we are harder to be ignored.
But if those levels of government see how we bury tough decisions in studies and how we can’t agree on a simple thing like a transit system, would you really want to fund special projects for that community?
It’s time to do the right thing. We need to find a way for everyday people to get around this city without a taxi. It needs to stop being studied and start being done. If Vermilion can do it, why can’t we?
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