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THE LIBERAL

Creating Portraits of Giving

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Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012

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R I C H M O N D H I L L’ S C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R S I N C E 1 8 7 8

Transit fares will rise, passes, too Scale back increase for seniors, students: Spatafora BY L.H. TIFFANY HSIEH

thsieh@yrmg.com

Public transit riders in York Region will pay more starting in January, but monthly passes for adults, students and seniors/children won’t go up as much as originally planned. Regional council voted Thursday to knock up to $5 off the proposed new monthly fares for three categories following concerns voiced by several members that the hike would drive potential riders away and hit those with fixed or limited incomes the hardest. “I’m really struggling with this,” Vaughan Regional Councillor Deb Schulte said, pointing out many transit users already pay fares for York Region Transit and TTC. Richmond Hill Regional Councillor Vito Spatafora agreed, adding he didn’t think it would be onerous to hike the fare gradually. “I would prefer a more scaled-back increase for (students and seniors),” he said. Instead of $125 for an adult pass, $95 for a student pass and $59 for a senior/child pass, the new fares will be $120, $90 and $55, respectively. Georgina Mayor Robert Grossi made an earlier attempt to achieve the same reduction, but the move was voted down by the region’s transportation services committee. Passes currently cost $115 for adults, $85 for students and $50 for seniors/children. These lower fare hikes will shave about $340,000 off YRT’s projected revenue of $3 million from the overall hike. See CASH, page 16.

STAFF PHOTO/STEVE SOMERVILLE

CONSTRUCTION SEASON It’s not just construction season on our roads, but on our sidewalks, too. Workers ripped up and replaced the sidewalk bricks along Crosby Avenue last week and were also working on sidewalks on Dunlop Street this week. From sidewalks to roads to stormwater pipes, Canada’s municipal infrastructure needs major upgrading, see story on page 5.

New off-leash dog park opens next Saturday BY KIM ZARZOUR

kzarzour@yrmg.com

Richmond Hill’s four-legged friends will have another field for frolicking starting next Saturday with the grand opening of the town’s second off-leash dog park. A party at the park for pooches, located near 19th Avenue and Leslie Street inside Phyllis Rawlinson Park, gets underway at 11 a.m. Sept. 29. The day-long event includes everything

from pupcake treats to a doggie dress-up parade. “It’s been a real collaborative community event,” said Mary Pan, with the town’s event services department. “As I got into it, I discovered such passion from people, the stakeholders. It’s going to be such fun.” The lead-up to a new off-leash park was anything but fun. The town’s first dog park, 1.8 acres locat-

ed at Tower Hill Road and Yonge Street, became a victim of its own success. Created as a pilot project in October 2009 after a decade of requests from the town’s dog lovers, the facility drew ire from nearby residents who complained of noise, security and traffic issues. Disgruntled residents, who said they were not properly consulted by the town See TWO, page 3.

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