There’s a good reason why youngsters get a pet fish before a puppy. If you can care for a fish, maybe one day you’ll get a puppy. The cheap aquatic alternative teaches responsibility without much financial risk. If city council’s pet fish were OC Transpo, it would be bloated, floating and dead. And it would still want a dog named Tunnel.
To reduce next year’s tax hike from 10 per cent to 3.9, council slashed across the board. In addition to deferring payment for many expenses, devastating cuts will also be made to OC Transpo.
The cuts will affect all commuters: each fed-up transit user becomes another rush-hour driver. Council plans to increase bus fares and reduce service. When those two things occur simultaneously, there’s clearly something fishy.
Next year’s fares will be 7.5 per cent higher. Ottawa already has the most expensive single-ride fare of Canada’s 10 largest cities. Reductions to service will include fewer express buses and route changes to create longer distances between stops.
Instead of seeking scapegoats for OC Transpo’s clear management problems, let’s work to avoid the major problem looming on the horizon: the downtown tunnel.
The tunnel is council’s juvenile dream of a puppy. Planning began in 2007 to connect LeBreton Flats to the University of Ottawa. The city collectively held its breath and watched the cost climb. Luckily, a swift punch in the gut came from the federal and provincial governments.
Each level of government was to cover one third of the cost, which had skyrocketed to $2.1 billion. Comparatively, Ottawa’s entire 2009 budget – including sewers, roads and salaries – was about $2.2 billion. Upon seeing the figures, the other two governments backed out, telling the city to reassess its needs.
The city’s needs are the same as any other municipality: a police service, library, garbage collection and public space maintenance. Shockingly, this year’s council voted to make cuts or impose specific taxes to cover each of these basic necessities. The tunnel is a luxury item. In a recession, luxuries should be the first to go. With both parents having said no to the dog, we are still left with a dead fish. What now?
If any change is to succeed in Ottawa, it must be gradual. Instead of a massive tunnel construction project, council should start small. Extend the O-Train from its current end at Greenboro station, along pre-existing tracks all the way to Barrhaven and Kanata.
West- and south-end commuters could be whisked downtown by rail. Currently, VIA Rail uses these tracks and is willing to reschedule trains around commuter O-Trains.
Temporary shuttle busses and an eventual surface rail system would take commuters from LeBreton Flats into the downtown core. This idea would not permanently solve Ottawa’s transit problem, but it would assess rider interest and council competence to run a major train service.
For the moment, however, city council seems reluctant to show residents – and next year, voters – that it deserves any more responsibility than a child with a dead fish and impossible dreams.