Many of us in Hintonburg enjoy reading Centretown News, since our communities have a great deal in common.
I want to respond, however, to an article in the business section of a recent issue (Truck traffic a menace, say downtown businesses, March 12), which described the efforts of some in the King Edward Avenue area to alleviate their serious problem with truck traffic.
We have traffic problems in Hintonburg, too, and can certainly sympathize with the residents and merchants in the King Edward Avenue area.
However, we are adamantly opposed to the remedies proposed by one group, represented by Mr. Josh Moon, which has launched an appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board. It is seeking the reinstatement in the region’s official plan for a number of bridges planned to cross the Ottawa River into Ottawa, which the region had previously and correctly eliminated from the plan.
Of greatest concern to our area is the Champagne Arterial proposal, which would have a new bridge cross the Ottawa River at the CP Rail corridor near Preston Street, to connect with a new highway built from the river to the Queensway right through our community.
The Hintonburg Community Association, along with other community associations, have previously expended considerable effort successfully opposing this destructive proposal.
We are concerned that the Centretown News article did not clearly describe the considerable negative impact the proposed downtown bridges would have on communities in Ottawa and did not mention the widespread opposition of community groups and residents in communities including Hintonburg, Dalhousie, Manor Park, and New Edinburgh, who have joined the region to defend the official plan before the OMB.
Although there is unarguably a serious problem on King Edward, the remedies proposed in this appeal are not the way it should be addressed. Instead, we support building bridges outside of Ottawa’s urban, built-up area, as recently proposed by the region, and requiring trucks to use them. This would divert truck traffic away from the residential and retail areas in the city, including King Edward Avenue, without introducing the same traffic problems suffered by the Kind Edward area to other communities in the city.
Jay Baltz
President, Hintonburg Community Association