By Margaret Brown
Car tolls in Centretown are still a long way from getting a green light, but a federal politician has recently added some fuel to the idea.
Federal Transport Minister David Collenette recently forwarded the idea of charging tolls to drive downtown as a way of deterring excess traffic during rush hours. The suggestion was part of a 10-year plan for transportation in Canada.
“The former official plan briefly spoke to tolls and there was quite a bit of controversy. I suspect if it is mentioned again we will see a very lively argument,” says Robert Smythe, director of the Centretown Citizens’ Community Association.
“I doubt very much that we’ll see them anytime soon.”
On Feb. 17, London, England introduced traffic tolls for entering its downtown core, which so far has reduced traffic by about 25 per cent.
Tolls could encourage car pooling, walking, biking, taking the bus or other methods of public transportation that would reduce traffic congestion in the Centretown area. The money raised could be used to improve OC Transpo or fix roads.London’s tolls are approximately $12. However, Ata Khan, a transportation expert at Carleton University, estimates the charge would be from $3 to $5 for a city the size of Ottawa.
Khan says tolls would be a good way to prevent future traffic problems.
“Ottawa is going to be a big city. Right now, there is a traffic problem, but not that much. If you project another 10 years, it’s going to be different,” he says.
“People living in the downtown core would not have to pay or would pay very little,” Khan says.
Khan imagines an advanced system for Ottawa where the tolls would be higher at peak times. Cameras set at entry points into the downtown core would capture licence plates of vehicles entering the area and the time they entered.
Taxis, cars for the disabled, and emergency vehicles would be exempt from the tolls. The time a car leaves the core wouldn’t matter.
“Imagine an electronic cordon up on the Ottawa River, Bronson Avenue on the one side, maybe King Edward Avenue on the other side, maybe as low as Catherine Street or a few streets above. It depends on where the problems are,” Khan says.
“It may be premature, but it’s a reasonable thing to think about,” Smythe says.
Smythe estimates tolls would not have a negative impact on Centretown businesses. That’s because many Centretown shoppers live in the area and walk or bike to stores. Also, many of the office workers who shop in Centretown already take public transit.
“Merchants will not be affected. It is really to curtail people going there during peak times, meaning in the morning. Downtown shoppers usually go there in the evenings, so I don’t think its going to have an effect. People can travel by transit and still shop,” Khan says.
Smythe says OC Transpo would need some improvement under a toll system.
“Part of the argument with toll roads is that it shouldn’t be imposed until there is a good transit system. But maybe you wouldn’t get a good transit system until you have the tolls to pay for it,” Smythe says.
The side benefits to a toll system go beyond the money that would be raised.
“If there is less congestion on the streets down here, people will feel much more comfortable cycling in the city,” says Jennifer Allen, program coordinator for Citizens for Safe Cycling. “People always say that they would ride their bike, but they’re nervous about traffic.”
But Allen says if there were tolls, the money raised should go to public transit or improving roads, rather than adding bike lanes downtown.
“You don’t need to have a bike lane to be able to cycle on a street.”