Councillors cook up $2B transit plan

Surprise proposal includes downtown subway, light rail for east/south, buses for west

(Thursday, November 22, 2007 by Jake Rupert, The Ottawa Citizen) -- The future of public transit in the municipality took a dramatic turn yesterday when a group of councillors endorsed a $2-billion plan that calls for a subway across downtown, light rail in the south and east of the city, and the completion of the bus transitway in the west.

The surprise move came during a joint meeting of the city's transit and transportation committees, where councillors were supposed to discuss short-term transit projects, but ended up passing a motion outlining a citywide long-term plan.

The city has been trying for a decade to get a new mass transit system based on light rail up and running. The most recent plan -- a $1-billion north-south light-rail line -- was killed late last year and since then, the city has been slowly working toward a new plan. It wasn't scheduled to be set for at least another year.

The new plan, created by several members of the committees will be put before city council next week.

It calls for the extension of the O-Train south into Riverside South, building a light-rail line on the Cumberland transit corridor, and connecting the two lines with a tunnel downtown.

If the plan is adopted by council, the western bus transitway to connect downtown to Kanata and the Stittsville area would be completed and the transitway in Barrhaven would be extended.

To help pay for the projects, the city would immediately apply to the federal and provincial governments for the $200 million each pledged to support the old plan and the money would go to several projects the city is ready to start now.

The other projects, including the tunnel, would be built as soon as the necessary studies are complete and the funding is secured.

Gloucester-South Nepean Councillor Steve Desroches said with cities around the country and province snapping up transit funding from provincial and federal governments, Ottawa's got to get in the game fast or lose out.

"This is a solid, practical plan for the entire city, but it's going to hinge on getting federal and provincial funding," he said. "With other cities lining up for that funding, we have to get in the game."

He said the city needs to start improving transit, instead of just talking about it, and this plan will allow the city to do this in a timely manner.

But some councillors say the plan needs work.

Innes Councillor Rainer Bloess was particularly opposed to the extension of light rail to the south of the city. He said the plan is vague and too close to the one council voted down late last year.

"I think this needs to be a lot more fleshed out," he said. "There are too many unanswered questions that need to be answered before I can support something like this."

Rideau-Rockcliffe Councillor Jacques Legendre and Kitchissippi Councillor Christine Leadman also voted against extending the train.

Mr. Legendre also voted against finishing the bus transitway. He said with that project estimated to cost $450 million alone, the odds of getting funding for a subway, which will cost at least $500 million, were slim.

"This is a do everything plan, and I'd like to do everything, but I don't think we can," he said. "If we finish the transitway, that's it, I think. No tunnel."

A few members of the public attended the meeting, and some were angry that councillors essentially created a new master transit plan for the city without consultation.

"This is going to council as a set of priorities for the city with no time for the public to understand it, and zero consultation," said David Jeans, president of Transport 2000, a public transit advocacy group. "This changes the priorities that were agreed upon through previous consultations."

However, the city's deputy city manager of planning, transportation and environment, Nancy Schepers, said she "absolutely supported" the new direction and that she was looking forward to implementing the plan.

She said the estimated $2-billion pricetag is preliminary and could come down dramatically depending on how the city moves forward.

Alain Mercier, the head of OC Transpo, said he, too, was pleased with the direction the city is taking. "I like what they are doing because it demonstrates a long-term vision for the future of the system, and it will allow us to plan for the future better because we know where things are going," Mr. Mercier said.

In the short term, the city will use any money it gets to improve the existing system until everything for the larger rapid transit plan, including the tunnel, is in place. City officials say it could be eight years before everything is operating.

The short-term projects largely extend and fill in gaps in the city's bus transitway system and are spread out in the eastern and western parts of the city, as well as Barrhaven. They also include reconfiguring Rideau Street between Sussex Drive and King Edward Avenue, creating a transit route along Baseline Road between Woodroffe Avenue and Bank Street, and improving stations across the city.

© The Ottawa Citizen 2007

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