I am often asked whether the plan to extend the LRT to Kanata and Stittsville will ever happen. Well, I don’t have a crystal ball, but like anything in life, big plans start with small steps. Last week, Councillor Gower (Chair of the Transit Committee) put forward a motion regarding transit long-range planning and the last part of the motion included this “therefore” clause. Note section g.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and the City Manager enter into negotiations with the Province of Ontario regarding the upload of LRT, and that the following principles be foundational to those discussions and inform a future Agreement with the Province:
a. that a deal must be fair to Ottawa taxpayers and consistent with precedent deals reached in other Ontario municipalities;
b. that the governance structure of Metrolinx includes appropriate mechanisms to ensure accountability and transparency for Ottawa residents;
c. that Metrolinx has a significant presence and adequate resources in Ottawa to meet its commitments to the City of Ottawa and OC Transpo;
d. that OC Transpo maintain local control over service delivery and hiring of personnel;
e. that any savings from reduced debt-servicing and maintenance costs be re-invested into OC Transpo;
f. that the value of Transit Oriented Development opportunities available along the LRT corridors be identified, assessed and factored into valuations;
g. that the Province consult and collaborate with the City of Ottawa and OC Transpo on the planning, design, procurement, construction, delivery and operation of Stage 3 LRT to Kanata, Stittsville and Barrhaven;
This was important. As you may know, LRT stage 3 was to be funded with 50% provincial funding and 50% federal funding. With the Premier’s promise to upload the LRT, now is the time to start thinking about stage 3.