CORNWALL – The idea of Sunday transit service has been dusted off again with a new e-petition submitted to the City of Cornwall.
Resident Ginette Guy submitted the change.org petition with 704 signatories arguing that “non-drivers” can’t carry out the same level of activities on the seventh day compared to the rest of the week.
The petition was allowed to go through – supported by Coun. Elaine MacDonald and Coun. Carilyne Hebert – even though the information is not verifiable. It was allowed to proceed because the city’s procedures don’t exactly lay out specific requirements, a city report states.
“Supporters of this petition did not provide their addresses nor valid e-mail addresses…it would appear that some petitioners live outside the City of Cornwall including such places as France, Africa, Israel, Vancouver and many areas in the United States,” the report reads.
Coun. Claude McIntosh expects the report at the next meeting because “I believe the same group presented the same petition three years ago…it’s just recycling a report.”
Coun. Elaine MacDonald was thankful the city clerk accepted the petition even through it was “deficient” in the information usually required.
In 2016, Cornwall Transit Division Manager Len Tapp estimated it would cost $500,000 to add Sunday bus service in the city.
The idea has been the subject of a number of city administration reports. In 2018, Tapp said Sunday bus service wouldn’t be addressed until at least this year as the city needed to address the “user experience” first.
The report will be at the next council meeting, June 22.