Stephen Vance, Editor
The plan approved by Meaford’s council on July 4 to run an in–town public transit pilot project, and to explore the possibility of establishing transit service to the neighbouring communities of Owen Sound and the Blue Mountains is a step in the right direction for this municipality.
While the plan may have been the result of the municipal service delivery review which got underway last month, it is timely indeed given the upcoming closure of Meaford’s downtown Foodland grocery store. In fact, the Foodland is virtually empty of perishable goods already, as I discovered when I walked over to do some grocery shopping last week, so people already need to find ways to get to the only other grocery store in town.
The announcement of the Foodland closure left many of its customers who live in the downtown area and don’t drive wondering how they were going to pick up their groceries. It’s a long walk up the hill to Valu-mart, particularly for the elderly or disabled, taxis are expensive, and the current Handi-van service offered by the municipality is restricted to registered users, and as was expressed during the service delivery reviewand conceded by Meaford’s Treasurer on Monday, it is less than convenient to use.
If the municipality can establish a route along the main corridor from the medical centre in the west through to Valu-mart in the east, urban area residents who are unable to drive themselves would be able to at least get much closer to their destinations at an affordable cost.
It’s true that you can currently get to the places you need to go by using a taxi service, but that can get expensive. From my own experience I know that it costs $24 round trip for me to get to council meetings and back home, not that the municipal transit pilot project would help that, but when you add in the taxi trips to the grocery store or even to work from time to time, those taxi rides can add up each month, and for the elderlyor those on disability, it can be simply cost prohibitive.
Where this plan could get even more exciting is if cost-effective routes could be established to get Meaford residents to the hospital in Owen Sound (where there is a city bus stop), and to the Village at Blue Mountain where there are many employment opportunities year–round that would become much more accessible to those living in Meaford without vehicles.
Some concern was raised around the council table about such a plan hurting Meaford businesses by taking people outside of the municipality (something many folks with cars do anyway), but I don’t believe Meaford’s downtown businesses would suffer, and in fact, if it’s done right, Meaford businesses could benefit through promotion of the service along with promotion of things to do in Meaford to residents of those neighbouring communities, who might take the opportunity for some affordable transportation out of their own communities.
Many communities are struggling with transit issues, particularly smaller communities which have traditionally not offered transit services. But for a community like Meaford with a large retirement population, moving people from place to place, particularly to medical appointments, or to purchase groceries is becoming more and more important. That enormous ‘Baby Boom’ generation is in full-on retirement mode these days, and more and more retirees, many of whom will be on small, fixed incomes, will need to find ways to get around if or when they become unable to drive.
This pilot project is somewhat of a brave step for a small community like Meaford, but if they can find a way to do it efficiently, and if it can be cost-effective for the municipality and affordable for users, then it really could be one of those rare situations where everybody wins.
No, it wouldn’t be a full blown transit service with multiple routes that could get people to within steps of wherever they need to go like the big cities have, but it would be a simple, easy to manage, right-sized solution for this particular community. And if the municipality can find a way to connect people from the urban area to the larger communities that we are sandwiched in between, then that could be a huge win for everyone.
But don’t get too excited just yet – establishing a service that would move people to Owen Sound or the Blue Mountains might prove to be too expensive for a community like Meaford to afford, but it is certainly worth exploring, and could open many doors both for seniors wanting access to the amenities in larger communities, or for working–age folks who want access to employment opportunities that you simply can’t find in Meaford these days.
Meaford’s council and the municipal staff should be commended for responding to the needs of the community by at least taking the opportunity to explore what is possible, and what is not.
