Cochrane certainly has an interesting history, as does the surrounding area.
Established in 1881 as the Cochrane Ranche, as a village in 1903 and then a town in 1971 with a population just over 1,000, it sometimes feels like the town’s history is a distant memory when you look around at over 20,000 residents leading busy, hectic lives.
With a population growth of 10.4 per cent from 2013 to 2014, there is one particular issue for Cochrane, one that was the hot-button topic three years ago, which has the potential to come back into the spotlight with a vengeance.
Transit.
There’s a word you haven’t heard in the media or anywhere else for a while.
It’s certainly not because the issue is dead…far from it.
In June, Cochrane’s council approved a $71,235 boost for the development of a transportation master plan – the Connecting Cochrane Plan – bringing the total cost of the effort to over $250,000.
Not long ago, the town presented to the public three options for the beginning of a transit system in Cochrane: two local options and one regional to Calgary’s Crowfoot LRT station.
During a March 2013 council meeting, following a heated debate, Option 2, which provided a local dial-a-bus service to certain areas of town at 60-minute intervals, was approved, but did not receive the unanimous support that then-mayor Truper McBride said he was hoping for.
A regional transit system initiated by the Town of Cochrane fell by the wayside, as the Calgary Regional Partnership had its own plans for a regional system – called ‘on-it’ – that would service 14 communities surrounding Calgary.
Since then, the whole idea of a local transit system in Cochrane has taken a backseat to various other initiatives – mainly the new pool/curling facility and the Rock the Waves campaign that aims to raise money to get the project on the go.
The first of three workshops put on by the town was held June 24 at the Curling Club. The workshops aim to gather enough public input into what Cochranites would like to see when it comes to a local transit service.
But with Cochrane growing at such a rapid pace, does the idea of a transit system need to be brought back into the spotlight, or do many residents still feel that it’s a waste of money at this time?
Airdrie, for example, started its transit system in 1980 when its population was just around 6,000. Now, Airdrie’s buses are getting more and more packed, but the city currently boasts a population of 50,000, more than double that of Cochrane.
So does Cochrane wait until its population is more in the 30-40,000 range, or does it get buses on the streets as soon as possible, and weather any potential financial pitfalls that may come with doing so this early?
Cochrane’s current council, which is comprised of a mayor who, when he was a councillor, fought against implementing a transit system at this time, will face this question sooner or later. By the time their term is complete, Cochrane may be looking at a population of close to 30,000.
