City council votes to move transit plan forward
Posted Jan 22, 2010 By Marianne Wilkinson
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Tweet ThisEMC News - Council, on a 19 - 4 vote, has approved moving forward on the Recommended Plan for the Downtown Ottawa Transit Tunnel (DOTT) Planning and Environmental Assessment Study.
This means that staff can move forward on the final steps of the environmental assessment (EA) over a maximum of six months, including approval by the Ministry of the Environment.
The next steps include acquisition of property, undertake preliminary engineering, determining the procurement process to be followed and undertake an urban design study and a transportation study for the downtown that includes pedestrian and cycling facilities as well as surface bus routes to feed into the system.
One major concern that has been expressed relates to funding the DOTT.
The estimated cost is $2.1 billion. So far the province has agreed to provide $600 million and the federal government is expected to announce a similar amount soon.
The city has approved $700 million (from sources other than property taxes). To deal with the shortfall, I presented two motions to council, both of which were approved.
The first was to have staff identify those parts of the project that would be ineligible for cost sharing with other governments so that the city would be required to pay 100 per cent of those items. We need to have that information.
The second was for staff to explore methods to reduce the cost and to provide a list of options, including cost estimates, so that the city's portion of costs eligible for federal and provincial funding would not exceed one-third of the cost.
Council has not yet given final approval to the project nor approved a total budget.
The information from the reports arising from my motions will enable council to make prudent decisions without having excessive costs borne by the city.
I do support having a tunnel through the downtown and using light rail (LRT) as the means of transport with bus transitways feeding into it.
Most major cities now have a mixture of rail and buses - and this is the system that Ottawa will start to see evolving over the next few years.
The study for a western route is now commencing with consideration being given to using the parkway, Byron Avenue or Carling Avenue.
It will take two to three years to complete during which time the DOTT will commence construction.
Several important bus transitways, including the piece from Bayshore to Moodie will be built during this period.
The LRT system will cut the number of buses traveling through the city's downtown core in half. Green house gases will be reduced as well fuel consumption.
Overall operating costs of the transit system will be reduced by up to $100 million per year starting in 2019, once the DOTT and related busways are completed.
GREEN BIN CONTENTS
There is one correction on what can be put in the green bin.
Dog feces are not permitted under the license approved by the province. You will need to put your bag in the garbage or better still, flush the contents down the toilet.
Contents of litter boxes from cats and small animals can still be put in your green box.
OFFICIAL PLAN APPROVED
The province has approved the city's new Official Plan that council approved last year.
Anyone who put in a submission on the Plan has the right to appeal. Details on how to appeal are on the city website, but any appeal must be sent to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for receipt by Jan. 25.
COMING EVENTS
Jan. 25 - Public delegations on city budget, City Hall (see www.ottawa.ca for more information).
Jan. 30 - Hockey Day in Ottawa at outdoor rinks - plan something for your rink.
Jan. 31 -Family Fun Day at Klondike Woods Park, Morgan's Grant, from 1 to 3 p.m.
Feb. 1 - WOCRC Meet & Greet for neighbourhood friendly organizations to launch Ottawa Neighbourhoods Study Website, 5 to 7 p.m., presentation 5:30 p.m. RSVP to hayes@communityresourcecentre.ca
Serving the residents and businesses in Kanata North
To receive the Kanata North Newsletter, to deal with a concern or make a suggestion contact me at 613-580-2474, Email: Marianne.Wilkinson@ottawa.ca or through www.mariannewilkinson.com.
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