Councillor Peggy Feltmate in her letter to the Ottawa Citizen June 14, 2010 (It is a choice of downtown transit mall or tunnel) compares the options of a downtown LRT tunnel with the alternative of turning Albert or Slater Streets into a transit-only mall. The transit mall should save considerable expense and make the project affordable. However, it would need to be sold to the federal government’s current mouthpiece on this file, John Baird. This is likely to be a difficult task.
Also this approach assumes that the present plan to establish a core LRT link between Blair and Tunney’s through the downtown core is the right way to go in the first place. As I noted in my earlier post on this topic a great deal more analysis and planning is needed before a shovel is put in the ground for the light rail project.
Some will argue that the transit plan has been studied to death already. However as I previously noted, studies undertaken to date have largely addressed preconceived solutions. Broadly based investigations to determine the overall needs of the community have still not been undertaken.
Showing posts with label John Baird. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Baird. Show all posts
Monday, June 14, 2010
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Budget bill threatens federal environmental assessment process
A University of Ottawa – Ecojustice Environmental Law Clinic group analyzing Navigable Water Protection Act amendments included in the budget bill conclude that they will allow “unfettered discretion” by the federal transport minister to exempt projects or waterways from environmental oversight; see Critics fear budget bill will lead to loss of waterways, Ottawa Citizen Feb 12, 2009.
Transport Minister John Baird claims the amendments were included “…because they are intended to remove an antiquated regulatory burden from developers and governments for “shovel ready” projects to stimulate the economy.” Surely projects cannot be claimed as “shovel ready” unless environmental assessments are completed?
Thinking beyond this, one ponders projects, such as the proposed Ottawa River bridge crossing (Kettle Island or elsewhere) or the proposed bridge across the Rideau River that is needed for later stages of the Alta Vista Transportation Corridor, proceeding without federal environmental assessments. Since when is the need for an environmental assessment “antiquated?” As Will Amos, staff lawyer for the clinic notes, “You’re not going to fix the economy by wrecking the environment.”
Transport Minister John Baird claims the amendments were included “…because they are intended to remove an antiquated regulatory burden from developers and governments for “shovel ready” projects to stimulate the economy.” Surely projects cannot be claimed as “shovel ready” unless environmental assessments are completed?
Thinking beyond this, one ponders projects, such as the proposed Ottawa River bridge crossing (Kettle Island or elsewhere) or the proposed bridge across the Rideau River that is needed for later stages of the Alta Vista Transportation Corridor, proceeding without federal environmental assessments. Since when is the need for an environmental assessment “antiquated?” As Will Amos, staff lawyer for the clinic notes, “You’re not going to fix the economy by wrecking the environment.”
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