System features three routes covering most of the city

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BY KRIS MCDAVID
Times & Transcript Staff

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MIRAMICHI - Throughout its young history, Miramichi has been, without a doubt, a car-dependant city.

When the former towns, villages, and settlements scattered around both banks of the main Miramichi River amalgamated into New Brunswick's seventh city in 1995, the area morphed into the province's second-largest city in terms of area.

But by the end of the summer, Miramichiers will finally have the option of leaving their cars at home and hopping on one of the city's four brand new buses as part of its inaugural public transit system.

Four full-size buses and one disability transit bus arrived in Miramichi last week, and city officials are currently in the process of pouring over dozens of job applications for drivers.

City transit commissioner Roy Innis said he's estimating the buses, funded through a $421,000 federal grant, will be on the roads by early August.

The city has also unveiled the final version of its transit map, featuring three separate routes that cover most corners of the city. The main terminus for the system is centered on the malls and retail outlets in the Douglastown Power Centre.

The first route will make stops at the Wal-Mart in Douglastown and then cross the Centennial Bridge into Chatham, making rounds near NBCC Miramichi and James M. Hill High School, before travelling down Water Street towards Nelson and across the Miramichi Bridge. It will make its final stop in Newcastle town square.

A second route runs from Douglastown heading west on King George Highway through Nordin and into Newcastle, where it will make several stops including Miramichi Valley High School and Ecole Carrefour Beausoleil.

The third route will run from Douglastown across the Centennial Bridge into Chatham where it will travel through several areas of the former town, including the former grounds of CFB Chatham near Retirement Miramichi and along Route 117 in Taintville.

Innis said that tenders will be issued this month for the construction of several bus shelters, but pointed out that he expects the transit service will be in effect long before the shelters

Mayor Gerry Cormier said the long-overdue system will be a benefit for the city's significant population of seniors and students, while also promoting an environmentally friendly way of getting from Point A to Point B.

"We've been waiting a long time for this and it's finally almost here," he said.

"It's just wonderful and I hope everybody uses this so we can keep this going for a long time."

Miramichi becomes the province's fourth city to feature a public transit system, after Moncton, Saint John, and Fredericton.