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CITY: Red Deer residents to get better public transit services, cleaner water
        (AlbertaIndex, December 27, Thursday) --- Red Deer’s 83,000 residents will have access to better public transit services and safer and cleaner water supply, thanks to new investments by the provincial and federal governments.
        They will jointly invest $6 million to upgrade water, sanitary sewer and storm systems, and nearly $670,000 to upgrade 90 transit stops in the city, said Bob Mills, MP for Red Deer.

He made the announcements in separate statements on behalf of Rona Ambrose, President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of Western Economic Diversification, and Mary Anne Jablonski, MLA for Red Deer–North and Luke Ouellette, Minister of Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation and MLA for Innisfail–Sylvan Lake.

The investments will be made through the Canada-Alberta Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (CAMRIF).
The first project involves upgrading the aging water, sanitary sewer and storm systems in Springbrook, Harvard Industrial Park and at the Red Deer Airport. A total of 350 households will benefit from the upgrade and have access to improved drinking water.   

“This investment will ensure safe drinking water, an efficient and reliable wastewater system and a reduction in flooding for the residents of the County of Red Deer,” said MP Mills.

The transit road-sidewalk improvement program will provide the city with bus stop improvements including extending sidewalks to the transit stops, improving lighting and creating stable and level cement pads for the stops.

These improvements will potentially result in an increase of 9,000 riders, making further advances towards a cleaner and healthier environment.

“This infrastructure investment will improve the safety and accessibility of public transit for the growing number of riders in the City of Red Deer,” said Mills.

Under the initial CAMRIF Agreement signed in June 2006, the federal and provincial governments each committed $88 million to the fund, with participating local governments expected to make up the remaining costs.

This year, the governments of Canada and Alberta province each provided an additional $19 million to CAMRIF as part of their commitment to help smaller communities meet their pressing infrastructure needs.  The total amount available from CAMRIF, with federal and provincial investment and matching local government contribution in projects, is $321 million.

A minimum of 55 per cent of funding under CAMRIF targets green infrastructure projects that contribute to community economic development and environmental quality of life. These include water, wastewater, solid waste, environmental energy improvements and public transit.

The fund also invests in recreational infrastructure, tourism, cultural projects, local roads and broadband connectivity.  Projects are selected on a competitive basis from applications received from Alberta communities.

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