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economist suntribune trans po rtaton saturday oct 19 2002 35 regions transit plan merits study minister says from page 1 david collenette support might be possible that includes york region he said mr collenette said the regions plan merits study we have programs in place that per haps can support that he said the region proposes to fund its share of the quick start program in annual increments beginning next year of 173 million 223 million and 104 million it is proposed the money would come from devel opment charges and the issuing of debentures any regional ex penditure on the project would be contingent on in volvement of the feds and queens park the goal is to get started on the regions rapid tran sit plan to alleviate traffic gridlock said regional chairperson bill fisch the first steps would include the purchase of specialized rapid transit buses and the creation of dedicated markham stouffville residents earn rouge park awards by mike adler staff writer a markham woman devoted to a local conservation area for 16 years and a whitchurchstouffville couple who planted thousands of trees around their home are among those receiving rouge park awards this year all were recognized recently for help ing ontarios largest urban park which is set to expand along the rouge river through markham to the rivers many headwater areas in whitchurch- stouffville and richmond hill lesley price secretarytreasurer of the milne park conservation assoc iation and a founder of the group that cares for milne dam conservation area in markham was given a heritage award for her determined efforts to pro tect and restore the 400acre park on mccowan road my energy is renewed ms price said acting locally i think does work globally al and joan johnston were presented with a river keeper award for contribut ing to the rivers health beside their bethesda road home in whitchurch- stouffville the johnstons who have planted 7500 trees and shrubs on land containing a headwater spring and ponds received a river keeper sign for their gate other river keepers named to hon our their environmentfriendly prac tices at an awards night at rouge river community centre in markham were the recentlybuilt ibm software lab in markham the markham green golf club and the emerald hills golf country club in whitchurchstouffville pride in preston lake a gormley resi dents group discouraging canada geese from upsetting the ecology of their fragile kettle lake was also named a river keeper heritage awards were also ann ounced for karen boniface parks plan ner for markham and for dan olding environmental coordinator for rich mond hills parks and recreation department highoccupancy vehicle lanes on major routes he said mr fisch said hell lobby for money from the federal governments munici pal infrastructure fund and the provinces superbuild program he stressed the necessity of getting senior levels of government on board as the region tackles its costly ambitious rapid transit vision mr fisch will travel to ottawa next week to pitch the funding plan to transport canada officials we think we have a good chance of making it happen mr fisch said the chairpersons optimism was obvious when he alluded to the transit funding proposal during a ceremony to launch the construction of 58 new apartments for seniors and adults with disabilities at the regions assisted liv ing complex on eagle street in newmarket the region is working on a plan that will provide rapid transit on the east- west hwy 7a corridor across the region and connect points in markham richmond hill and vaughan with the toronto transit commissions subway lines conceptual plans call for rapid tran sit service to be extended along yonge street as far north as newmarket the system still in its earliest plan ning stages could see specialized buses light rail or even subway technology adopted over time the project which will cost billions of douars is being undertaken by the municipality in partnership with york consortium 2002 thats a group that consists of private sector companies from a number of dis ciplines including engineering public transit and banking this message brought to you as a community service of the economists suntribune join mow for only expires october 31 2002 limited to the first 100 people at each location our exclusive 30 day money hack policy guarantees your 100 comfort- living the i good life your guide to iuccess v david patckelvevans come in to discover how goodlife can help you reach your goals receive a free copy of the book living the good life km goddlife f t n e s s c l u b s 905 4795343 markville mall 5000 highway 7 coed 416 4943221 3389 steeles avenue east coed 905 2016753 200 bullock drive women only inside loblaws nominal dues and administration fees apply offer expires october 31 2002 i m 4