Vol. 14 No. 3 Wednesday, January 18, 198424 Pages w GO-ALRT route approved by Minister TORONTO -- The ap- proved alignment and station locations for the 25 km Pickering-to- Oshawa section of the GO-ALRT Interregional Transit Program was outlined on Jan. il by Ontario Transportation and Communications Minister James Snow. "The decision to proceed with this par- ticular alignment was made after considerable 'I know Peter Rabbit .. Local actress and singer, Jo Anne appear in the Peter Perry Awards night, public participation and continuous consultation with , the Region of Durham and the rnunicipalities of Pickering, Ajax, Whit- by, Oshawa and Newcastle," said Snow. The approved -route will run between High- way 401 and the Canadian National Railway tracks 'from Liverpool Rd. in Pickering to east of Brock St., Whitby, who is Peter Perry?' Alexander as "Mary Jane" will variety show. Free Press Staff Photo wheré it will cross to the north side of the 401. The line will continue east and north-east to Thickson Rd. passing to the north of the Cad- bury-Schweppes plant. From Thickson Rd. to the terminus station in Oshawa the ALRT will follow the Canadian Pacific Railway's right- of-way south of the CPR tracks. Construction on the section between Liver- pool Rd. and Thornton Rd. is scheduled to start early in 1984. A con- struction schedule for the Oshawa portion of the route will not be established until an En- vironmental Assess- ment Report is ap- proved by the Ministry of the Environment. Priority will be given to a 6.1-kilometre stret- ch of track between Pickering Beach Rd., Ajax and Henry St. in Whitby that will be used to test vehicles and systems prior to the in- troduction of revenue service. 'Stations are planned for Liverpool Rd. in Pickering; Westney Rd., Ajax; Brock St. and Hopkins St. in Whit- by; as well as Stevenson Rd. and Bloor St. east of Harmony Rd. in Oshawa. A maintenance and service plant will be located south of the CPR tracks and east of Thickson Rd. in Whitby. Positive response in the form of resolutions endorsing the selected route has been received from the Region of Durham, Oshawa and the towns of Newcastle, Ajax and Whitby. "Liaison with the municipalities will con- tinue throughout the design and construction' of the extension," said Snow. "I am gratified to see the planning stage com- pleted on schedule, as it will mean additional job opportunities in the con- struciton industry, boosting the economy of the area early in this year." Whitby 1984 tax increases under 2 per cent Whitby residents will be pleased to learn that Whitby Council has finalized the 1984 municipal budget and kept the tax increase minimal. Finance committee chairman, Gerry Emm made the announ- cement at a- special meeting last week. He pointed out that due to "a 4.8 percent increase in the assessment base combined with councils' previous efforts" the 1984 tax increase would only be 1.9 percent for homes in the urban area, and 1.7 percent in Brookhin and the rural area. This local tax in- crease based on an average home assessed at $5,000 represents about $7.50 per year for an urban horme, and $6.00 per year for a Brooklin or rural home. The municipal budget, which is in ex- cess of 12 million dollars only represents about 3 percnet of the tax bill. The regional portion which the Town Council estimates will increase by about 5.1 percent makes up about 17 percent of the tax bill, and the Board of Education portion usually takes the remaining 50 percent. The, Regional and school budgets are not expected to be finalized until about March, so the total tax crunch will not be known until that time. The Whitby Free Press will carry more details on the municipal budge in next weeks issue. f ZMI pm