By Denise Tom
A proposed extension to the light rail project has some Sparks Street businesses smiling.
The plan would see tracks run along Sparks Street from Hull and from the airport.
“Anything that brings back traffic to the downtown core is a good thing,” says Bill Cornet, the owner of Classico Uomo, a men’s clothing store on Sparks Street.
“It would be a big asset to the street,” says Herb Gosewich, owner of Ritchie’s Sports Shop.
The strip of stores along Sparks Street is quiet with almost no traffic. Most of the stores don’t have store hours posted on their doors because there are no fixed hours.
If it’s a quiet day or a bitterly cold, stores may just close up early. Because the street is not busy, stores are able to do that, Gosewich says as he looks out his store window at the empty street.
Regional Chair Bob Chiarelli recently announced a proposal to extend the existing light rail project to connect Hull and Ottawa’s downtown core as well as the airport.
Chiarelli is excited about the new look this extension would give to Centretown in particular.
He says the traffic along Bronson Avenue would be lightened significantly because a large portion of that traffic is to and from the airport. With the light rail train heading to the airport, the traffic congestion would be alleviated.
The extension would run from Place du Portage in Hull to the Prince of Wales rail bridge, to Bayview Station. From there, one line would extend south to the airport, and another would head east to Sparks Street, ending at Bank Street.
The trains would travel along the busy downtown streets and along the Transitway. The trains would be able to stop and start again at the traffic lights so that they could mix with other traffic.
There is a safety concern about trains travelling with cars and pedestrians, but Chiarelli says they are monitoring other North American and European cities that have a similar system in place.
Chiarelli is quick to note that “what is being discussed publicly is a concept plan.”
The planning for the extension is in its early stages and still needs details to be worked out, including the cost.
The existing light rail project costs about $16.8 million.
The extension plan must then be approved in order to continue.
The Sparks Street Mall Authority announced a plan in December to make the area more pedestrian-friendly.
The key part of its plan is the development of an urban park-like setting.
The mall’s manager, Shannon McKenna, says while the proposed extension does conflict with this vision, it has no comment on the light rail project at this time.
Regardless, Gosewich is hopeful about the proposal because of what it could mean to Sparks Street.
“It’s in dire, dire, dire need of it. Very dire,” Gosewich says. “But some day, it’ll come back to be the Times Square of Ottawa.”