The federal government has announced that $17.9 million from the new Transit Fund is committed for Manitoba, creating a new window of opportunity to start building a rapid transit system for Winnipeg.

The federal government has said that the money must be used to implement the 2005 Rapid Transit Task Force recommendations (designated busways, other transit improvements) and/or bike paths.

The ball is now firmly in the court of the city and the province to decide how the money will be spent.

What isn't clear yet is whether this new federal cash infusion will go towards finally getting started on rapid transit for Winnipeg.

This window of opportunity could be lost if the funds are spent on replacement busses or recreational bike trails which may not even be located in the City of Winnipeg.

A key recommendation of the Mayor's Rapid Transit Task Force was to build designated busways starting with downtown to the University of Manitoba and also the eastern corridor.

Phase One of the busway would cut off nine to 10 minutes of travel time going from downtown to Jubilee, bypassing congestion on the Donald Street Bridge, in Osborne Village and at Confusion Corner.

Over $100 million of infill housing development would be stimulated in the Fort Rouge Yards where existing schools, recreational facilities and infrastructure are in place. The economic benefit of compact, sustainable infill development clearly brings both financial and environmental benefit.

Not everyone is aware that it has always been part of the bus rapid transit plan that true commuter bike lanes would be built alongside the transit bus ways.

Building BRT from downtown and ultimately to the University of Manitoba achieves both the goals of high-speed transit and of safe commuter cycling.

There are huge cost savings to be found by building commuter bike paths in conjunction with the bus way using railway lands.

In the case of the south corridor, trying to build a commuter bike path apart from the transit project requires taking away lanes of traffic on Pembina Highway, costs more and would do nothing to improve transit service.

The amount of these new federal funds that go to the City of Winnipeg is based on transit ridership which gives Winnipeg most of the money if the money is used for transit. However, if the money is used for recreational trails, the projects and the dollars could go anywhere in the province.

Focusing on a transit-related project gives Winnipeg a better deal.

There are, in fact, financing options that would make building rapid transit doable.

The cost of BRT from downtown to Jubilee is about $70 million, up from the $43 million it was in 2004. The longer it takes Winnipeg to get started on rapid transit, the more it will cost.

Assuming the federal funds are designated for BRT, the province and the city would need to each find $26 million to build the first phase of BRT from downtown to Jubilee.

Capital projects are usually built by financing them over 20 or 30 years. That is how the Chief Peguis Trail, the Disraeli Bridge and the widening of McGillivray Boulevard will be financed.

The new rapid transit reserve fund of $2.7 million that was established in the city budget should be used to fund capital investment in rapid transit.

One scenario could involve the province matching the city's contribution to the reserve fund each year. The fund could be used to pay the financing charges over a number of years, just as we do with our other capital projects.

The announcement of the new federal money is the perfect opportunity to get rapid transit back on track. The longer we wait to get started, the higher the costs of construction will be.

The price of gas will continue to rise. Greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced. A rapid transit system benefits all Winnipeggers by reducing traffic congestion and providing an environmentally friendlier, quick and reliable alternative mode of transportation

Winnipeg, our capital city, has an opportunity to be a leader and to plan for the future in a changing world.

There are ways to make this work if the mayor and the premier have the political will to make it happen.

Councillors Jenny Gerbasi and Mike Pagtakhan were members of the Mayor's Rapid Transit Task Force.