Queensway Coalition

Provincial election – and the Queensway widening issue

In mid-September, the OECA sent a letter to all candidates running in the provincial election in Ottawa Centre. We posed three questions to them, all relating to the proposed Queensway widening. We first asked if they supported our ‘bump-up’ request to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation for a more complete examination of the environmental impact if the Queensway were widened through Old Ottawa East. We asked what their party policy was on sustainable transportation, and what implications their policy would have on the proposed Queensway expansion, which will increase vehicular traffic in both east and west end neighbourhoods of Ottawa Centre. And finally, we asked the candidates, if elected, if they would personally commit to intervene on our behalf with their caucus and the Minister of Environment to support our bump-up request.

We’ve posted the OECA letter sent to all candidates, and the candidate’s responses, below. This issue looms large in the months ahead, and we should all become more familiar with the politics of it.

Jan D’Arcy
President, OECA

The letter to all candidates from the OECA
Candidate responses we’ve received:
Richard Eveleigh, Independent
Trina Morrisette, PC
Will Murray, NDP
Stuart Ryan, Communist Party of Canada

To all candidates running in Ottawa Centre:

Hello everyone,

The Ottawa East Community Association (OECA) represents about 6000 residents of the neighbourhood on either side of Main Street, which prior to annexation in1908 comprised the Village of Ottawa East. Amongst the neighbourhood’s distinctions, is that the original village was bisected by the construction of the Queensway. This makes us acutely sensitive to plans for modifications to highway 417.

The OECA is an active member of the City Centre Coalition, which is a grouping of ten community organizations focusing on community-friendly, environment-friendly solutions to transportation issues. We are co-signatories to a bump-up request against the Environmental Assessment (EA) by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario, which is recommending widening the 417 and ramp changes which would be very harmful to our neighbourhood. The bump-up request is currently with the provincial Ministry of the Environment awaiting review.

Our request is that the EA on the proposed project be done at the proper level of thoroughness in order to assure adequate protection of neighbourhoods through which the highway passes. The Class Environmental Assessment process used in these studies is streamlined for road expansions and could not recommend a transit-only solution as a consequence. The bump-up from a Class EA to an Individual EA would ensure a more complete examination of all alternatives. See www.queenswaycoalition.org/QW.html for more details.

We have three questions for you relating to our bump-up request:
• Do you support our bump-up request?
• What is your party’s policy on sustainable transportation, and what implications will this policy have on the proposed Queensway expansion which will impact traffic flows (and increase vehicular traffic) in both the east and west end neighbourhoods of the Ottawa Centre constituency?
• If elected, will you personally commit to intervene on our behalf with your caucus and the Minister of Environment to support our bump-up request?
We are requesting all candidates to send us their responses to jandarcy@sympatico.ca (300 words or less) by September 28th so that we may share them with our community. The responses will be posted on our Web site at www.ottawaeast.ca, circulated via our electronic community newsletter, and shared with our neighbouring community associations in Ottawa Centre.

Thank you, in advance.

Sincerely,
Jan D'Arcy
President OECA

Old Town Hall,
61 Main Street,
Ottawa, K1S 1B3

From Richard Eveleigh, Independent

Do you support our bump-up request?
Yes I support your bump-up request; I have a stake in this too, regarding air quality, fine dust created from the tailpipes and tires of vehicles and more traffic noise, not to mention the trees I help to plant on the ramps along the Queensway. I support the Idea that you should have your input how this problem of traffic solution can be met without widening the Queensway.

What is your party's policy on sustainable transportation, and what implications will this policy have on the proposed Queensway expansion which will impact traffic flows (and increase vehicular traffic) in both the east and west end neighbourhoods of the Ottawa Centre constituency?
My party’s policy if I decided to form one will be to get this province off the Idea that all solution can be solved by building more and wider highways. I will be pushing to have all long distant traffic by rail and to have trucks design to be able to travel onto the rail. Before this will be done, certain rails will only have traffic going one way while the other rail will be known too go the other way, in order to avoid accidents. And any rail built by the province will remain the property of the province for all traffic to use whether that is public or private vehicles.
• It is known that moving people and goods on rails uses less energy compare to moving on roads for long distance.
• On both sides of the ends of Ottawa Queensway can be tracks laid down to join the track that will be going along the Queensway to take in people and goods to there destination.
• And if the existing road needs to be widened, this road in question will be put below ground to the surface of the bedrock with structures built over it or a forest cover over this widen road. This way we will have no noise pollution and might increase our green space.

If elected, will you personally commit to intervene on our behalf with your caucus and the Minister of Environment to support our bump-up request?
I will be willing to personally intervene on your behalf with or without a caucus and the Minister of Environment to support your bump-up request.

From Trina Morrisette

I have received your email message sent on behalf of the Ottawa East Community Association (OECA). Your letter concerns actions taken by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation with regard to the Environmental Assessment and the recommendation to widen highway 417 (The Queensway) and to make a number of ramp changes which will have a detrimental effect on your community.

Like many citizens in Ottawa,I became aware of this through media coverage a number of months ago. I have reviewed the situation via the OECA's excellent website. The "Coalition Against Queensway Widening" initiative demonstrates that you and many dedicated residents in the village of Ottawa East have made a concerted effort to protect your community and its quality of life.

I am in support of your efforts to "bump-up" the type of assessment done by the Ministry as noted in the OECA's letter to the Minister on February 23,2007. Surely,a recommendation which puts parks and over 20 homes at risk in addition to its environmental impacts should be based on a complete examination of all the alternatives.

We need to make our province cleaner and healthier! John Tory's plan for a cleaner environment is both realistic and ambitious.It starts with immediate action to stop greenhouse gases and pollution from getting worse and then implements a long-term strategy to make Ontario an environmental leader. A John Tory Government will also invest an additional $1.1 billion annually in municipal transportation and transit. The PC Party supports the investment of local transit authorities in initiatives along high-volume corridors therefore it is timely to investigate all the environmentally sustainable transportation alternatives for the Queensway.

If elected as your MPP for Ottawa Centre,I would be pleased to convey the views of Ottawa Centre's residents on this matter to the appropriate ministries and elected officials.

Thank you for your service to your community association and for your efforts to find community-friendly and environmentally-friendly solutions to these issues.

Trina Morissette

From Will Murrry, candidate for the New Democratic Party

Do you support our bump-up request?
Yes.

What is your party’s policy on sustainable transportation, and what implications will this policy have on the proposed Queensway expansion which will impact traffic flows (and increase vehicular traffic) in both the east and west end neighbourhoods of the Ottawa Centre constituency?
More roads will mean more cars, and in any development plan for Ottawa, alternatives like expanded bike paths, sidewalk widening, improved public transit, must be considered. The province is ignoring our public transit needs with only $200 million offered to Ottawa, compared with the $17.5 billion invested in Toronto and Hamilton. Ottawa deserves its fair share of public transit dollars. I will fight for a fair deal for Ottawa to get the system we clearly need. Better public transit means fewer cars on our roads, encouraging more bikes and walkers, resulting in less consumption and congestion, and will play an important part building a greener Ottawa. Keeping it affordable is the key to ensure its success and make sure that it is accessible to everyone.

If elected, will you personally commit to intervene on our behalf with your caucus and the Minister of Environment to support our bump-up request?
Yes. The NDP supports a thorough Environmental Assessment is fundamental to any development, and that it must be accompanied by community input.

From Stuart Ryan, the candidate for the Communist Party of Canada (Ontario)

Thank you for the opportunity to express my views on issues of importance to the
citizens of Ottawa East.

Do you support our bump-up request?
I support the bump-up request

What is your party's policy on sustainable transportation, and what implications will this policy have on the proposed Queensway expansion which will impact traffic flows (and increase vehicular traffic) in both the east and west end neighbourhoods of the Ottawa Centre constituency?
Our Party support full provinicial and federal funding for mass transit such as the O-train, OC Transpo and a public Para Transpo rather than the expansion of the Queensway. We need less cars on the road.

If elected, will you personally commit to intervene on our behalf with your caucus and the Minister of Environment to support our bump-up request?
I would intervene to make sure future proposals for highway expansion considers their effects on neighbourhoods.