The location of the next link across the Ottawa River is uncertain again after the National Capital Commission rejected its own consultant’s proposal and added two more bridge locations for further study.
A consultant hired by the NCC recommended Kettle Island, north of the Aviation Parkway, as the best site for a new bridge. Bowing to pressure from the Ontario and Quebec governments, the commission’s board instead expanded the search for a route to include Lower Duck Island and McLaurin Bay, farther east.
The consultant’s work was supposed to narrow the options to one, with a second study to examine just how a crossing should be built there. The NCC board’s vote means the detailed work is to be done for all three possible locations, increasing the cost from $4 million to $9 million.
The board’s decision is contingent on the two provincial governments agreeing to share the extra cost of the more comprehensive study of the three corridors. The work is to take until 2013.
The board also ordered a separate study on the impact of downtown truck traffic. One of the more contentious issues in the debate is whether the Kettle Island route would significantly ease the problem of trucks winding through downtown Ottawa and along King Edward Avenue to get to the Macdonald-Cartier bridge at Lowertown.
The failure to back Kettle Island is a victory for Rockcliffe and Manor Park residents who have been fighting the choice of that location.
But it is a big blow to proponents who thought that after decades of studies and false starts, the issue would finally be settled at the NCC board meeting. An angry Councillor Bob Monette, who represents Orléans and whose constituents would be much more affected by the second and third possible bridge locations than by a crossing at Kettle Island, slammed the NCC for turning the decision into a political football and ignoring the will of area residents. He accused the board of making its decision before the meeting.
Mr. Monette said the way things are going, he doubts a new bridge will never be built.
“I am very disappointed at what I saw today. It is complete disrespect. If the NCC wants to be a political body, maybe they should run next time so we can elect these people and make them accountable for their decisions,” Mr. Monette said. “This bridge will never be built. Kettle Island will always be shown as the preferred option, but there will always be naysayers. It will always have political interference. That’s the reality.”
But his colleague, Rideau-Rockcliffe Councillor Jacques Legendre, was having none it, saying the decision is the “best that could be under the circumstances.”
NCC board chair Russell Mills said the commission’s decision reflects what its key partners — the Ontario and Quebec governments — want. He said the commission values the input of area municipal councils and that’s why it delayed making a decision to allow Ottawa to finally make up its mind. In a meeting Wednesday, council agreed that the bridge should be at Kettle Island, but councillors also voted to reconsider the question at their next meeting.
Regardless of Ottawa city council’s uncertainty, if the governments that are going to foot the bill want three routes examined, that’s what they are going to get, Mr. Mills said.
“The provinces are putting money into it, the cities are not. This is a compromise. It will take a year or so more and it’ll cost more, but it is reality,” Mr. Mills said. “We are very interested in municipal opinion, but the people who are really putting money into this are the two provinces and the federal government through the NCC.”
The search for a new and sixth interprovincial bridge has been going on since the 1980s. But anytime a site is identified, furious objections from local residents and their politicians have scuttled the proposal.
It was no different this time when a consultant hired by the NCC proposed a new $500-million bridge at Kettle Island. Residents of Rockcliffe and Manor Park and leaders at the Montfort Hospital, the Canada Aviation Museum and other community groups rallied against the bridge, saying the changes needed to accommodate more traffic on the Aviation Parkway would destroy neighbourhoods, businesses and institutions.
The big break for opponents of the Kettle Island option came when the Ontario and Quebec governments called for an expansion of the search to include the other two corridors in the top three of the consultant’s evaluation.
Friday, the Manor Park groups claimed a sweet victory even though they admitted the war is yet to be won. They say the decision will give them an opportunity to make their case and, in the end, they will prove that Kettle Island is not the best choice.
“Today is a good day. This is an excellent decision,” said Jane Brammer, one of the community leaders.
“It is a complete travesty to put a bridge at Kettle Island,” added Roger Fleury of the Coalition for Rapid Transit in the Outaouais, which opposes the bridge.
“This decision reflects what people want. I am very happy today.”
NCC chief executive Marie Lemay said she will write to the provinces to ask them to cough up their share for the second phase of the study. She said Quebec has already agreed to make its contribution and once Ontario signs on, the NCC will hire a consultant and get on with the study. She said examining three corridors will add a year to the project, but it is not a huge setback.
“We are on track. We will look in detail at the three corridors to make sure we have the best place to put the bridge,” she said.
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