A TASTE FOR LIFE: KANATA SOUTH VS KANATA NORTH

For the past 11 years, A Taste for Life has been a chance for people to raise funds to help men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS, spend time with friends and eat great food. This year A Taste for Life will be on Wednesday April 29.

In Kanata, The Glen Scottish Restaurant on Hazeldean Road and Lapointe's Seafood Grill on Colchester will be participating.

I have challenged Councillor Wilkinson, who will be at Lapointe's, to a friendly competition between the wards to see which restaurant can raise the most funds! I and members of my staff will be at The Glen for dinner. Just by dining at The Glen on that evening, the restaurant will donate 25% of the cost of our meals to Bruce House and the Snowy Owl AIDS Foundation.

There is also the opportunity to donate additionally for which charitable receipts will be provided. If you decide to participate and go with your own group, make sure to call to make a reservation, as this is a very popular event!

I am looking forward to being able to participate in A Taste for Life in Kanata and would like to thank the owners of The Glen for participating once again in this event.

CONGESTION TAKES ITS TOLL ON EXPRESS ROUTES

The proposals in the 2009 Transplan show what is likely to happen to express routes as our city grows. While no routes from Kanata are affected, the proposals call for 12 express and peak routes serving downtown to be replaced by improved local bus service connecting to transit bus routes. This means that people living in neighbourhoods those routes used to serve will now have to change buses to get to work, even at rush hour.

For anyone travelling in downtown at rush hour the congestion problem is obvious. The number of buses required to carry everyone during afternoon rush hour has reached the point where buses are lined up to get to stops along Albert and Slater. At rush hour, from my office, I often see eastbound buses lined up all the way across the Mackenzie King Bridge waiting to get to the bus stop at the Rideau Centre.

Hub and spoke, where people take a local route to connect with a transitway route, helps reduce congestion because there are fewer bus routes travelling through downtown. However, it comes at a price. Transferring adds to the journey time unless the service is so reliable that you can plan your trip to keep the time you spend waiting to transfer to a minimum.

As well, hub and spoke only gets us a few more years. Even with the more realistic growth projections adopted for the Official Plan update, it is expected that there will be no more room for additional buses downtown in 2017 for routes serving the east end and in 2029 for routes serving the west end. This is why the additional capacity light rail can provide is seen as necessary.

DEADLINE FOR FEEDBACK IN TRANSPLAN CONSULTATIONS IS APRIL 25

OC Transpo has released proposals for changes to bus routes as part of its annual Transplan process. None of the changes proposed affect Kanata directly, but the process does provide a chance to provide feedback. People have until April 25 to provide comments. Details can be found by going to the OC Transpo site at www.octranspo.com and selecting the link for Transplan.

The one major change to bus service for Kanata residents – the opening of the Western Transitway this year - is not part of the Transplan consultations. The Western Transitway will speed up all rush hour bus service by allowing buses to by-pass congestion on the Queensway.

VOLUNTEER WEEK A CHANCE TO THANK VOLUNTEERS

April 19 to 25 is National Volunteer Week. It is a chance to recognize the efforts of people who volunteer in our community. In Kanata, volunteers play a major role in expanding what our community has to offer. Thank you to everyone who makes a difference.

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