Folks in the capital are interested in this project: The City of Ottawa wants to build a north-south commuter rail system that would run from a shopping centre a few blocks from Parliament Hill out to a suburban development on the city’s southern edge. This week, the Canadian Transportation Agency signed off on the deal.
Some excerpts from the CTA decision:
- “the North-South light rail transit line (hereinafter the LRT) Project is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects taking into account the implementation of the mitigation measures proposed by the City of Ottawa. “
- “The total LRT Project consists of some 31 kilometers of twin-track electrically powered Light Rail Transit service running from its southern terminus in the future Barrhaven Town Centre to the Mackenzie King Bridge, including a link to the Macdonald-Cartier International Airport. The LRT Project will be constructed in phases. “
- “The City of Ottawa's notice of application and environmental assessment was published in local area newspapers and eight interventions from the City of Ottawa's residents or citizen/business associations in respect of the construction application were filed with the Agency. Interventions were received from Mr. Clarke, Albert/Slater Coalition, Bentall Real Estate Services, City Centre Coalition, Mr. Berthiaume, Citizens for Safe Cycling, Ms. Allogia, Crowne Plaza Ottawa and SaveOurGreenspace.”
The intervenors’ concerns can be lumped, broadly, into three areas:
- The proposed route will hurt Albert Street and Slater Street businesses in the downtown core, inhibiting pedestrian traffic and access to some buildings.
- The proposed route has not been optimized for safety.
- The proposed route does not do enough to protec the natural environment.
The City of Ottawa had replies for each of the intervenors (a summary of the objections and their responses is at the CTA link above) and, if the City didn’t satisfy the intervenors, it satisfied the three-person tribunal from the CTA which reviewed the decision.