LETTER

Twelve questions for light rail or tramway advocates

 

1) Does your plan include existing (if dormant) infrastructure, or are you planning on building from scratch?

2) If using existing infrastructure (rail bed along the Lucerne Blvd), some parts will have to be modified.  Have you costed this out?

3) If the plan is to build completely new infrastructure (because you want it to run more centrally), what is the price tag in 2018 dollars?

4) Is the goal to hook up with other parts of Gatineau or just to connect with Ottawa?

5) How much upheaval will there be on existing road(s)?

6) What is your timeline and how will it affect Aylmer traffic today?

7) Will there  be any expropriations for new infrastructure?  What is the price tag?

8) Can you estimate the number of big old trees they'll bring down to widen Aylmer Road, and how many front yards reduced or eliminated to give the street the width for a rail/tram?

9) How about doing a cost/benefit comparison of expropriating large swaths of land to use as corridors, or looking for smaller areas to use as Park & Ride stations?

10) How about public consultations, distilling the project down to no more than three models from which to select? Display them somewhere in Aylmer, with costs, building timelines attached. Publish your rationale for your choice in this newspaper for all to see.

11) If the light rail system (or tram) goes from Aylmer into Hull where the rail bridge (Prince of Wales Bridge) crosses to Ottawa, will you increase taxes across Gatineau or just surcharge Aylmer residents?

12) If you endorse more residential growth to Aylmer without adding road infrastructure, will you consider building from Aylmer to Kanata - 1) a ferry service (the unfulfilled promises of two former MNAs for Hull-Aylmer), 2) another automobile bridge, or 3) a pedestrian/cyclist bridge from Aylmer to Kanata? I would like to highlight that the last two MNAs did not follow through on their promises! Also, since Ottawa has built pedestrian bridges across the Airport Pkwy and a couple (done or planned) across the Rideau Canal, why not across the Ottawa River at the shortest distance?    

Steve d’Eca
Aylmer