KANATA CONSULTATIONS ON NEW TRANSIT PLAN MAY 6

An open house on the proposals for light rail and other issues related to the Transportation Master Plan will be held in Kanata on Tuesday May 6 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Holy Trinity Catholic High School, 180 Katimavik Road.

If you are not able to get to the Open House, information is available on line at http://ottawa.ca/residents/onthemove/index_en.html. There is also a feedback form. If getting the information online is a problem, please contact my office and I will get the information sent to you.

Your voice counts. Comments from the public are why the earlier plans for light rail did not go ahead. This time we want to make sure that the public are heard early enough so that plans can be changed as needed.

THE COST OF NOT IMPLEMENTING THE TRANSIT PLAN

We know that getting the transit plan built will cost roughly $4 billion. The work includes completing a transitway link to Kanata so buses are not stuck in traffic.

What has not received a lot of attention is what it will cost us to “do nothing.” We know that it would require additional arterial road capacity. We also know that there are no corridors to accommodate the roads that would be required.

Congestion in the downtown would still have to be addressed. Without light rail, the only option will be a hub and spoke bus system. With a hub and spoke bus system, the only buses going all the way downtown would be the 90 series transitway routes (the 94, 95, 96 and 97). People who now use an express bus would be forced to take a local bus and then transfer to a transitway bus. Even with hub and spoke, the number of buses required to get people downtown will mean that there would still be some congestion problems and delays as a result.

These delays add to trip times for riders. Delays from congestion also add to the cost of operating the bus system as we are paying for drivers and buses to spend their time stuck in traffic instead of getting people where they want to go.

I have asked for the cost of not implementing the transit plan and will keep pushing for that information so people have a clear picture of the choices we face.

NEXT “COFFEE WITH PEGGY” MAY 2

The next Coffee with Peggy will be on Friday, May 2nd from 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. at Hazeldean Mall Food Court. If you have issues or questions you want to discuss informally, please don’t hesitate to stop by.

SLOW DOWN FOR DEER  - AND YOURSELF

In the last few weeks you have probably see quite a few deer when driving through the Greenbelt. This is a problem at night when visibility is reduced. There is only one effective way to avoid collisions with deer – slow down.

A Bridlewood resident recently let me know that the only reason he was able to avoid hitting a deer on Richmond is that he was travelling below the speed limit. On a personal level, travelling down Timm Drive late at night a few days ago I saw three deer. Again, travelling below the speed limit meant there was time to react and avoid an accident.

WORKING FULL-TIME FOR KANATA SOUTH

I appreciate the chance to hear from you about issues affecting our community. You can reach me at 580-2752 (office), 580-2762 (fax), www.feltmateforkanata.com or peggy.feltmate@ottawa.ca