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Updated July 11 2005
Media Release
Parks over Pavement
Trees and Smog Coffee Break
On Monday July 11th at 10:30 A.M. at the edge of the Queensway, community activists from all parts of the city will gather to plant some trees and stop for a smog coffee break. The coffee break will take place just west of the Rideau Canal near the Pretoria Bridge where Queensway widening and the proposed Alta Vista Expressway will funnel thousands of cars into the downtown.
This year Ottawa is experiencing the worst smog ever and activists want to draw attention to how the City and Province are proposing to make things worse. Despite overwhelming evidence that cities cannot build their way out of automobile congestion, Ottawa and the Province are proposing to do just that by widening the Queensway and building a new expressway via Alta Vista.
These projects are a one-way ticket to declining air quality and uglier communities. Studies show that the American cities that have invested the most in road projects have seen the greatest congestion increase because traffic demands do not decrease with road supply, they increase. Congestion is a supply driven equation.
The number one reason children are admitted to Ottawa hospitals is asthma - triggered by poor air quality. Poor air quality is a direct result of tailpipe pollution. Ottawa planners can’t seem to understand this. In the Alta Vista Environmental Assessment, the transit only solution scored lower on air quality than all road alternatives.
The City of Ottawa is known for its quality of life. Widening the Queensway and building another expressway will not improve the quality of life in Ottawa. It will not solve road congestion problems. It will not make Alta Vista more beautiful.
In support of Ottawa activists for PARKS OVER PAVEMENT, City Councillor Clive Doucet will serve coffee, croissants and smog on the Queensway verge at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, July 11, Pretoria and Queen-Elizabeth Driveway.
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For more information:
Office of Councillor Clive Doucet, Capital Ward 580-2487