Public input invited for next stage of LRT

By Veronica Newbury

An online interactive public information session to discuss Stage 2 of the Light Rail Transit Project will be held today, at 6:30 p.m.

Residents who wish to participate in the March 1 event can do so in person or via Facebook Live and will have the opportunity to ask questions and hear updates about the project.

City staff are set to deliver a presentation on the project, which will be broadcast live on the City of Ottawa Facebook and YouTube pages. Residents can then post questions in the comments section on the Facebook page during an online question-and-answer period.

Those wishing to attend the presentation in person can do so at City Hall’s Champlain Room, located at 110 Laurier Ave. W., or at the satellite broadcast event at the Hunt Club-Riverside Park Community Centre at 3320 Paul Anka Drive.

This event will be hosted by south-end councillors and begins at 6 p.m.

Stage 2 Rail was approved unanimously by City Council in 2013.

Construction is expected to begin in 2018 and be completed by 2023.

The project is set to deliver 36 more kilometres of rail line across the city, uniting the east, west and south ends of Ottawa from Trim Road in the east to Algonquin College in the west.

In total, 22 new stations will be added to the system.

The city has estimated that Stage 2 will bring 70 per cent of Ottawa residents within five kilometres of the rail line.