What
does the Mayor’s Transit Task Force
Recommend for Kanata
For Kanata residents the report of the Mayor’s
Transportation Task Force brought a mixed
reaction.
While people like the idea of rail service
to Kanata by 2010, trains will only run during
rush hour for the first few years.
There is also a concern that the route, which
starts on March Road, just north of Beaverbrook,
then goes south east to near Hunt Club and
Riverside before going north east to either
Bayview or the Via Station, may not be an
improvement on existing bus service.
Recommendations affecting Kanata
2007 to 2010
• Start rush hour only train service
from Kanata North (March to Bayview and the
Via Rail Station).
• Complete and extend Western Transitway
along the Queensway corridor to Kanata
2011 to 2017
• Build a tunnel under downtown so that
the train service from Kanata can run through
the downtown
• Increase the frequency of train service
from Kanata North to all day
• Start a rush hour only train service
to Stittsville using the Trans Canada Trail
corridor
2018 to 2037
• Convert the transitway system to light
rail, including the Western Transitway to
Kanata
• Run trains to Scotiabank Place
Where do we go from here?
The Mayor’s Transit
Task Force recommended rapid transit routes
and timelines for those routes to be implemented.
They made it clear they did not have the resources
or expertise to provide detailed cost estimates.
They also did not address details like service
frequency and the improvements to infrastructure
required to ensure the service is reliable
enough and frequent enough to attract riders.
I will be making sure we
get answers to these questions before decisions
are made on implementing the recommendations.
Based on the lessons from the north/south
light rail process both the public and councillors
need this information at the beginning of
the process.
Does it make sense to use the Trans
Canada Trail Corridor?
• Rail corridors were recommended because
they are cheaper since tracks are already
there
• With the Trans Canada Trail corridor
railway tracks would need to be re-laid
• Accommodating both the railway tracks
and the trail corridor would push up the price
by even more
• At the same time, it is planned that
the Western Transitway will serve much of
the same area as a rail line along the Trans
Canada Trail
I appreciate receiving your feedback on this,
and any other municipal issues.
- Peggy
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