Niagara Falls Fun - Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls Canada

From the City of Niagara Falls Mayor’s Office

People Mover Stimulus Funding

Mayor Ted Salci, City of Niagara Falls and the Members of City Council were pleased to welcome the Minister of Justice and Attorney General for Canada, the Honourable Rob Nicholson, Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Infrastructure for Ontario, the Honourable George Smitherman, and Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor to the Niagara Falls VIA Rail Station Monday, September 25 to receive the announcement of infrastructure stimulus funding in the amount of $25 million from the provincial government and reaffirmation from the federal government of their commitment of $25 million for their much anticipated People Mover System.

The Niagara Falls People Mover Project will allow for integration with local transit, addressing the transportation needs of its residents and visitors alike while meeting the federal and provincial government objectives of developing employment and new growth.

The People Mover System will have a significant impact on the environment by effectively challenging the congestion in the tourist core by removing cars from the roads, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transporting our visitors and residents in an efficient and effective manner. (more…)

Printed originally in the Review August 26, 2009

GO Train passengers average 1,500 a day
Ridership passed 30,000 mark last weekend, figures show
Posted By Corey Larocque

Nearly 2,700 passengers rode GO Transit’s Niagara-Toronto train last weekend, slightly below the 1,500-a-day average for the new summer service.

There were 1,433 passengers on Saturday and 1,264 on Sunday, according to figures released this week by the provincial transit agency. (more…)

Originally printed in the Review

Niagara good to GO: Watch the video
Hundreds take advantage of new Niagara Falls-Toronto train service
Posted By Corey Larocque

There’s a new way to get to Toronto.

Shoes off. Feet up. Head back. Eyes closed.

“It’s the only way to travel,” said Bernie Kurek, a plumber at the casino, who was one of the first Niagara Falls residents to travel on a GO Transit train to Toronto.

His black Nikes were on the floor and he rested his sock feet on the seat facing him. Beside him, facing the other direction his wife Denise, a first-time train traveller, had assumed the same relaxed position as she listened to an iPod and watched Niagara’s countryside pass by. (more…)

Click here to watch video

Printed by the Review

A people mover ‘lite’; Council opts for smaller system to move tourists
Posted By COREY LAROCQUE

It’s now or never for a people mover system in Niagara Falls – even if it’s not as grand as originally planned, says Dave Schram, a consultant working on the project for six years.

“There are two choices. Either move forward with Phase 1 or forget about the project,” Schram told the city’s community services committee Monday.

City council endorsed a plan to proceed with what Schram called a “top of escarpment” transit system instead of the “fully looped” design that has been in the works since 1998.

The city is now looking at a route that would be about one-quarter the length of the 10-kilometre loop that has been on the drawing board for years. (more…)

Printed by the Review

People mover restarted; Ten years on, council looks at revised plan
Posted By COREY LAROCQUE

Half a people mover might be better than none.

After 10 years of trying to develop a mass-transit system to shuttle people through the busiest tourist areas, city council will consider going ahead with the just the top portion of what was originally to be a 10-kilometre loop between Bender Street and Marineland.

A report going to tonight’s community services committee meeting recommends a “phased approach” to the people mover project.

It suggests the city focus on building the section along the top of the escarpment first, from Clifton Hill to the Rapidsview parking area.

“Although a fully looped system is the preferred approach by all partners in the project, it is generally concluded … that a fully looped system is a longer-term goal for the project,” the report by city chief administrative officer John MacDonald states.

If council accepts the report, the city will move ahead without the Niagara Parks Commission as a partner. (more…)