Kitchissippi Coun. Katherine Hobbs says the $80,000 price tag for a study of a new O-Train station at Gladstone Avenue – as calculated by city staff – is too steep for it to proceed separately from an overall transit study the city has planned.
The study on the station’s feasibility was originally supposed to be done separately, says Hobbs. “But we realized it just wasn’t feasible to do an $80,000 study right now,” she adds.
Instead, the city will incorporate the Gladstone station study within what they call their larger “expansion phasing strategy.”
This means that everyone will have to wait even longer to hear the fate of the proposed station.
The station is part of the city’s plan to expand the O-Train service and reduce wait times from 16 to eight minutes.
Almost $60 million was budgeted in June for this purpose and Hobbs says it makes sense to add the Gladstone station, which will be located in between Preston Street and Loretta Avenue, in the discussion.
She says despite the delay, she remains optimistic the station will be built.
“It’s always been talked about but was never a priority,” she says. “That’s starting to change as people start to see its importance.”
There’s a high population density in the area, Hobbs says, meaning a lot of people could potentially benefit from the station.
“The whole point is that the train has to pass by, so why not let people get on and off,” she says.
“There has been a lot of interest from the community and a lot of overwhelmingly positive feedback.”
Taylor Arkell, a Carleton student who lives on Spadina Avenue, only a few minutes from the proposed station, says although it’s a great idea, the latest delay casts doubts over whether or not the plan will ever come to fruition.
“The station would be great for me and for a lot of others in the area who could easily walk to the O-Train and avoid overcrowded and sometimes unreliable buses,” he says.
“I’ve been living in this city for a few years now though and have come to expect very little in transit improvement.”
Although the Preston Street BIA said it couldn’t comment on the issue, one of its members agrees with Hobbs.
“It’s outstanding,” says Ross Tyrell, owner of Big Easy’s, located on the corner of Preston and Balsam streets, one of the closest restaurants to the proposed station.
“It will bring more foot traffic through the area and anyone who’s tried to drive around here during rush hour knows that more foot traffic and less cars is exactly what we need,” he adds.
Tyrell says that if the station is built, development around Preston Street will increase.
“If you look at Toronto, where I lived for over 20 years, wherever there’s a station, there’s development,” he says.
“It brings more infrastructure density which is what the city needs. Without density, the city dies.”
That’s exactly why Tyrell says Ottawa should go ahead with the study and the construction. “How can the cost of building not be justified?” he says.
“You can’t look at it one-fingered. There are two sides to it. Sure there’s a cost but it’s what comes after that cost that we have to look forward to.”
There is no timeline for when the Gladstone station study will be completed.