Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson delivers transport-heavy “State of the City” address

Trains, planes and automobiles. That was on Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson agenda as he delivered a “State of the City” address to Rotarians on Thursday. Expansion of the airport, bringing in more carriers and a possible “train hub” were on the mayor’s lunch hour menu. Paterson says 2018 is going to be a busy year at city hall as a number of big-ticket projects get underway.

“You want a city that is proactive and I think this is the mantra that we’re trying to roll out as the city. And I think you’re going to see more of that.”

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Paterson put transportation in the spotlight.  He touched on the third crossing, saying the city needs to know in the next few weeks whether a 60-million federal grant for the bridge is floating this way. He also talked about the $16-million expansion of Norman Rogers Airport, giving the audience a glimpse of what it would look like with an expanded passenger terminal and longer runway. On the subject of train service, Paterson says Kingston passengers would benefit if Via Rail gets federal funding to launch a new high-frequency service.

“What that would mean is you would have early morning and late evening trains whether to Toronto, Montreal or Ottawa — so a big improvement over the service that we have right now.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "What that would mean is you would have early morning and late evening trains whether to Toronto, Montreal or Ottawa — so a big improvement over the service that we have right now."

The mayor also hinted about a new business announcement in the coming weeks.