The city’s Governance and Priorities Committee met with public works representatives to discuss proposed upgrades and changes to city transit on Sept. 20, and there was a hiccup in Kam Lake.
While the route extension was met with general approval from the committee, a number of committee members expressed concern that workers who commute to Kam Lake businesses would not be served by that route as planned.
The current proposed schedule is built around getting residents of Kam Lake to and from work or school.
Coun. Niels Konge told the virtual meeting he would not support the short-term implementation plan as it stands.
“I think we’re looking at this completely wrong,” he said.
Konge emphasized the need to get workers to Kam Lake for their 7 a.m. shifts rather than transporting Kam Lake residents to work and school downtown saying, “They’ve got that covered.”
He said he’s heard from business owners in the area that they need help getting their employees to work.
“Unless that is dealt with I’m going to have a very hard time supporting this,” he said.
Other committee members echoed his concern and chairperson Rebecca Alty put it to public works to make adjustments to the proposed route schedule.
Yellowknife’s proposed transit changes — including a new, fully-accessible fleet — are slated for December 2022.