By Greg Wigmore
It is ironic that the same means of transit Ottawa did away with in the mid-20th century could soon be resurrected, curing several current urban ills.
Sparks Street merchants are among those calling for the reintroduction of streetcars downtown, more than 40 years after their disappearance from the cityscape.
If the O-Train pilot project succeeds, the extension of the light rail network to the city centre appears very likely. Several mall merchants, as well as some city officials, envision a modern tram or streetcar line linking the O-Train to the downtown.
Retailers say the return of a streetcar to Sparks, which has been a pedestrian mall since 1967, would once again make the street a bustling commercial district year-round.
The prospect of increased sales for mall merchants is unlikely to generate the widespread public backing necessary to make the idea a reality. There are, however, several more tangible benefits a tramline would offer for the downtown and city as a whole.
The city and the National Capital Commission have both committed themselves to restoring the urban core, with Sparks Street of particular concern. An east-west tramline running along or near Sparks would go much further toward revitalizing the area than the proposed public plaza along Metcalfe Street, between Queen and Wellington.
Federal funds that might otherwise be used to construct the Metcalfe square could instead be spent on a first-rate streetcar line, bringing the light rail network, as well as innumerable commuters, shoppers and tourists, into the heart of the city.
NCC chairman Marcel Beaudry has said the mall is “a dead place” after 5 p.m. each day, in contrast to the lively, after-hours atmosphere in the Byward Market. Providing safe and convenient transportation to the area could induce entrepreneurs to set up nightspots in the vicinity.
Another spinoff would be a reduction in the number of vehicles downtown, which is likely to increase with much of the federal bureaucracy relocating to the core.
Scrapping the public square proposal in favour of a streetcar line would also ensure several historic buildings along Metcalfe and Sparks, which face demolition or relocation, remain where they are.
Before any track can be laid, the city must first persuade the provincial or federal government to help fund light rail extension. City Coun. Clive Doucet, vice-chair of the city’s transportation committee, says the federal government’s role as the major downtown employer makes a strong argument for it to share the costs.
In addition, the NCC has repeatedly said it considers the core area to be the nucleus of the national capital.
As for the location of the streetcar line, Doucet prefers Sparks, citing a report produced a few years ago for the former City of Ottawa that said the decline of the mall began with the removal of the streetcar. However, he adds that OC Transpo is likely to recommend Queen or Albert streets for the line because of their more central location.
This would reduce the number of impulse buyers on Sparks, but would still accomplish the goal of bringing more potential customers into the area. A one or two-block hike north to Sparks is unlikely to keep shoppers away.
Placing the line on Queen or Albert would also eliminate potential safety risks posed by having a streetcar pass through a pedestrian mall.
The time has come to debate the merits of bringing back the streetcar, as well as where the lines might be built.
As Los Angeles and Sydney have found, modernized versions of the streetcar networks they abandoned decades ago have proven to be both a popular and efficient means of moving people. That’s also why cities such as Toronto, San Francisco and Melbourne never scrapped their now famous tramlines in the first place.