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A shortlist of eight potential locations for new Ottawa River crossings in the capital area was tabled by the Quebec, Ontario and federal governments Tuesday, and already two of them are getting the thumbs down.
The release of the list kicked off a new, four-year, $4.5-million study to determine where future crossings could be, what they could be – bridges, tunnels or ferries – and how much they would cost.
The process is designed to get all three governments and the cities of Gatineau and Ottawa to finally agree on priority list of preferred options for future crossings.
After this, it will be up to the two provinces, the federal government, which is being represented by the National Capital Commission, and the cities’ leaders to figure out how many new crossings will be built and how they will be paid for.
Having the five governments agree on the preferred options will be key to getting anything done because two recent previous attempts to get a new bridge built, in 1994 and 1999, collapsed when common ground couldn’t be found.
NCC representative Guy Laflamme said that for this reason all levels of government are being brought to the table for the planning process this time, and that the approval procedure being used is a unique hybrid of the Quebec, Ontario and federal environmental assessment processes.
“It has not been an easy subject for this area,” he said. “We have to get each stakeholder to agree to ensure success.”
Most of the potential locations for crossings have been identified in previous studies.
The locations shortlisted in the east are between Masson-Angers and Cumberland; near Petrie Island; between 10th Line Road in Orleans and Montee Mineault in Gatineau; near Kettle Island connecting to the Aviation Parkway; and near Lower Duck Island.
In the west, links to be examined are between Boulevard des Allumettieres and March Road; Aylmer and Moodie Drive; and Aylmer and Acres Road.
One of the key goals of the process is to get the main cross-border traffic and trucking route out of downtown Ottawa.
Scott Taylor, of Roche NCE consultants, which has been hired to lead the study, said many things will be looked at while studying potential crossings. These include effects on surrounding neighbourhoods, traffic flows, plants and animals, costs, benefits and noise levels.
He also highlighted that the public will be consulted during every step of the process, starting next month when six sessions will be held for people to give input on the choices made for the shortlist.
He said a list of the preferred locations and choices of crossings will be developed next spring and, after more public consultations, serious study of the options will commence and take roughly three years.
Bay ward Councillor Alex Cullen was on hand for Tuesday’s shortlist release. Two of the potential west-end crossings are in his ward. He says he’s happy that a previously suggested crossing at the Des Chenes Rapids, also in his ward, is not on the list, but he’s flabbergasted that an option being looked at involves driving a road through Andrew Haydon Park on Carling Avenue.
“The park is one of the major facilities in this city,” he said. “It would be utterly destroyed by a bridge crossing through it.”
Ottawa-Orleans Liberal MPP Phil McNeely thinks about as much about the plan to have a crossing at Petrie Island, a popular recreation centre in the east end. But he said for the sake of people living downtown, at least one of the other east-end options should be pursued.
“We have to resolve this issue in Lowertown and on King Edward,” he said. “It’s dangerous, and it’s been going on far too long.”
Lowertown Community Association president Angela Rickman says she agrees. She said the Ontario and Canadian governments have been promising a new link to Quebec for years without anything concrete being done.
“It’s been two years since they announced they would be doing this, and now there’s a list,” Ms. Rickman said. “This is moving very slowly, and the people of our area are still dealing the situation.”
© Ottawa Citizen 2007