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Five kilometres east of Parliament Hill lies a landscape that offers a rare combination of natural beauty, cultural facilities and parkland.
Cyclists skim along paths beside the Ottawa River while tour buses daily visit the stables of the RCMP Musical Ride. Historic aircraft fly to and from the Rockcliffe airport, the oldest in Canada, situated beside the internationally renowned Canada Aviation Museum.
This tranquil and historic setting is knitted together with expanses of greenery and two scenic drives, the Aviation Parkway and the Rockcliffe Parkway.
“There is something there which is valuable—the fruits of the labour of multiple generations,” says Ken Greenberg, a Toronto urban planning consultant who advises cities around the world on growth.
Which is why a recommendation to locate a new bridge linking Ontario and Quebec at Kettle Island astonishes experts and outrages area residents.
It means carving a four-lane truck route through heavily populated central areas, green space and institutions.
“This is almost the least appropriate place to take a major vehicle thoroughfare through the urban fabric,” Mr. Greenberg says. His firm was working on plans for a development on the former Rockcliffe base, until the federal government shelved the project.
Raymond Moriyama, one of Canada’s most distinguished architects and designer of the Canadian War Museum, says: “This is un-Canadian. It’s the American way to put industry and trucks ahead of human life.”
Picking a site for a new interprovincial bridge is steeped in decades of political controversy. So when the chief executive of the National Capital Commission announced the result of a $4.5-million review by Roche NCE consultants, Marie Lemay went out of her way to say that there had never before been such a deep and “apolitical” process to select a site. “We won’t have a chance like this again,” she added.
Other politicians chimed in. Gatineau Mayor Marc Bureau said he supports the proposal because it fits with his city’s plan for heavy traffic on Montée Paiement, where “we just spent many millions of dollars to widen the road.”
About 100,000 people live in the most affected areas. Manor Park (including Manor Park East, Manor Park Hill), Carson Grove, Rockcliffe Mews, Fairhaven, Viscount Alexander Park and Overbrook/Castle Heights are adjacent to the route. Vanier, Rockcliffe Park, New Edinburgh and Lindenlea would also be severely affected.
Community associations have joined forces. They expect a large turnout at the final public consultation tomorrow at Lansdowne Park. Gatineau hosts a public consultation tonight.
“People have not been given proper consideration in this study. The process is seriously flawed,” says Judy Lishman, who has lived in Manor Park East for 25 years and is chairwoman of the Manor Park Community Association’s bridge committee.
The house that she and her husband, Don, built backs onto the Aviation Parkway and could be demolished. Under the plan, the parkway would become a four-lane highway for trucks and Gatineau commuters.