TRANSIT PLAN SETS OUT HOW TO GET LIGHT RAIL TO KANATA

What was clear in the transit plan adopted by council this week is that the goal is to get light rail to Kanata.

One of the benefits of light rail is that the high capacity allows us to solve problems like the bottleneck for transit users in the downtown. By starting downtown and building out, the plan adopted by council takes advantage of one of the strengths of light rail technology.

For people travelling from Kanata to downtown, the priority sections of the plan will remove delays caused by congestion on the Queensway and in the downtown.

The Western Transitway will speed up service on the Queensway. It is also intended to be designed so it can be converted to light rail at a low cost.

Going through downtown, light rail will avoid the delays buses experience lining up at stops. For the section of the west bound trip between the Rideau Centre and Lebreton, light rail is expected to cut the travel time from 12 to seven minutes.

The plan is not perfect. As an example, many of us would have liked to have seen the environmental assessment include surface light rail in the downtown so that we could see what cost savings were possible and whether it would be enough to provide faster service. However, it reflects what is possible, given the opposition from both businesses and most councillors to increasing space for transit on downtown streets.

We also need to recognize that this is just the first step and there are issues that will need to be addressed. One that is important for Kanata residents is how transfers will be handled. Transfer points like those on the Toronto subway, where people can wait inside and transfer times are kept to a minimum, are very different from shivering for 30 minutes in a bus shelter at the Eagleson Park and Ride – which is what many of us think of when we hear the word transfer. 

LEARNING FROM U.S. SUCCESSES IN DEALING WITH HOMELESSNESS

In a number of cities in the United States they have found that the cost of providing both housing and whatever supports people need to stay housed is cheaper than having people living on the streets or in shelters. Yes housing and the help that people with mental illness or other issues that made them vulnerable to being homeless costs money, but the cost is less than the costs to the health care system, the legal system, emergency service system and other government agencies due to chronic homelessness.

In Ottawa, people living on the street have been particularly vulnerable to crack dealers.

Over the last few months Councillor Peter Hume, the City’s Housing Branch and I have been working with local businesses, community groups and the United Way to solve the homelessness problem in Ottawa. This week, Phil Mangano, the Executive Director of the U.S. Council on Homelessness, came to Ottawa to discuss what is being done in the United States that might work here. The goal is to make our city a safer place for everyone.

LOCAL CHURCHES “LOVE KANATA”

On Saturday June 7, the Bridlewood Community Church of the Nazarene will be hosting a “Love Kanata” event. The goal is for people to participate in random acts of kindness in the community. There will also be activities at the church.

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