Efficiency was a key word at a televised Somerset Ward candidate debate – which covered such issues as taxation, transit and housing – on Rogers last week.
Diane Holmes, Don Fex and Barkley Pollock all agreed on the proposed light rail project and the downtown tunnel. Fex, Holmes and Pollock all say they want to see the project finally underway and that the city has wasted too much time and money planning and re-planning this project.
“One hundred per cent, lets get the tunnel done,” said Pollock.
Public transit efficiency, particularly last year’s transit strike, was a major concern.
“OC Transpo is broken,” Fex said. “Nobody wins during a transit strike; we had 51 days of, essentially, hell.”
The city is now trying to head off problems before they arise by having monthly meetings with OC Transpo, rather than trying to handle them all at once, under the pressure of a strike, said Holmes.
“We have to have a (transit) system that works,” she said.
The candidates all said OC Transpo must become more efficient.
Holmes said she wants the city’s auditor-general to review OC Transpo operations to see what the city can do to make it more efficient, which could reduce fares.
Pollock said he wants to be a councillor who gets “right into it” and makes a decision, rather than passing it to someone else for review.
Fex suggested removing “dead-heading” routes that seem to go nowhere as a way of increasing efficiency; he also said he wants to work with STO in Quebec to minimize the number of buses coming across the river.
When it came to segregated bikes lanes, the Chinatown BIA expressed concern over the Somerset Street pilot project in a video question.
Holmes said she understands the BIA’s concern, but that she was waiting for a report from Vélo Québec on the best location for a segregated bike lane in the city.
Fex said he was disappointed that cyclists lost another season of safe cycling due to consultation and would have liked the pilot project implemented right away.
“Cyclists need a safe route, east-west, as soon as possible,” he said.
On the subject of taxes, Pollock said he wants a one per-cent tax increase each year for the next four years, whereas Holmes made no promises.
“We’re a growing city and growth costs money,” she said. “There is a balancing act between keeping taxes low while a city grows, and that’s a major problem.”
All agreed that social housing in Ottawa is vital to the community with Fex saying he doesn’t think the city can afford to not continue upgrades on public housing.
Currently, Ottawa Community Housing needs $60 million every year for the next five years to keep up with maintenance, Holmes said, and she is asking the federal and provincial governments to put up the money.
Pollock said public housing is extremely important to Somerset Ward, but that there’s only so much a downtown ward can do to keep affordable housing. He said he wants other wards to offer affordable housing.
Susan Miller did not attend.