Town Applies for Elderly and Disabled Transportation Grant

The Board of Selectmen approved the town’s application for an $18,435 matching transportation grant during its meeting Wednesday night. 

The Elderly and Disabled Demand Responsive Transportation Grant was sent to the Capital Region Council of Governments for the April 1 deadline but will now be submitted to the state Department of Transportation upon selectmen’s approval, Chief Administrative Officer Robert Skinner said. 

He said about half the funds are used for the Dial-A-Ride program and half for medical transportation. Both are services for seniors over 60 and younger residents with disabilities. “For those people who use it, it is a very important service,” Skinner said. 

Skinner also said the matching funds the town would be responsible for are already included in the $42,000 set aside for senior transportation in the 2011-2012 budget proposal. 

Claire Cote, Senior/Social Services Coordinator said the town is able to provide Canton residents with rides to the library, grocery stores, the senior center, doctor’s offices in Canton and a few surrounding towns and some recreational programs in neighboring towns. “It’s quite expansive,” she said. 

Several residents also spoke in favor of the transportation, especially Dial-A-Ride, at the beginning of the meeting. Margaret Sangster said she uses the service, which includes a small fees to users, to go the doctors, the senior center, the library, the pharmacy and would use it to attend church if it was offered on Sundays. 

“This means a lot to me,” she said. “We need Dial-A-Ride.”