By Tiffany Tambeau, City Hall Bureau
The light-rail transit has become a highly controversial issue in the upcoming municipal election and as city council works to move forward with plans for the project, candidates and transit riders are voicing their concerns.
Tim Lane relies on public transportation to get around the city and he fears plans for the new light-rail transit project will only make commuting in Ottawa an inconvenience.
Lane is a member of the Friends of the O-Train, a local group created to lobby against the proposed plans for the 29.4 km north-south line of the LRT. Group members say they see a lot of flaws in the plan, specifically the closure of the O-Train for three years during the construction phase of the project.
Lane says the $744.2 million LRT project is a waste of money.
Mayoral candidate Larry O’Brien has recently called on the federal government to run an audit of the project. The LRT is expected to cost more than $700 million, with the federal and provincial government funding $400 million of the projected costs.
O’Brien and fellow mayoral candidate Alex Munter have both promised to bring the LRT project back to the drawing board if elected, citing concerns with the city’s plans.
Capital ward Coun. Clive Doucet says it would be a shame if a new mayor and councillors scrap the plans.
“It is the stupidest idea on the planet to shut down this plan.”
Doucet, who is also the vice-chair of the transportation committee, says he strongly supports the mayor’s plans because it will connect communities and will reduce the need for cars and road construction.
The city spends $300 million a year on roads and $1.8 billion every three years on roads. Doucet says the transit system will result in the city spending less money on road repairs, as more drivers take transit, reducing wear on roads.
Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes agrees. Without the LRT, she says, the city would have to build and widen more roads for private cars commuting into the downtown neighbourhood.
“Centretown is the area where everyone drives through to get downtown, so we want people to take the transit instead of driving through our communities.”
Holmes says she is in favour of getting commuters on public transit and would like to get people living and working closer to the Transitway and LRT line.
However, some of her opponents in the election think the LRT is a waste of money.
George Guirguis, a candidate in the Somerset ward, says city council made a mistake by signing the contract for the LRT project. He says Chiarelli should have waited to make important decisions about the north-south rail until after the Nov. 13 election.
Rather than investing money into the north-south rail, Guirguis says construction should be done on the east-west line first because it will benefit those travelling downtown and solve parking problems.
Another candidate, Luc Lapointe, also thinks the current council rushed into developing the project. Lapointe says the LRT doesn’t address the bigger problems of air pollution and transportation in the city.
Candidate Karen Dawe says the LRT project is a money issue.
“I don’t agree with the amount of money put into it and I don’t agree with it running parallel to social services,” she says.
Holmes disagrees and says the project is the “cheapest one we have ever had,” as the city will receive funding from the federal and provincial governments.
Holmes says the city will fund the remaining through gas taxes and only five per cent of the project will come from property taxes.
However, transit riders like Tim Lane still think it’s too much money and the closure of the O-train during the construction of the LRT will cause headaches for commuters.
But John Donaldson, an OC Transpo staff member, says replacement buses will be used while a double track is built for the new LRT.
“It really isn’t going to change their travel plans very much.”