Your Worship and members of Council,
Planning for a light rail transit (LRT) system in Ottawa has been a long and difficult process. Thankfully, there appears to be some light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. But as plans are finalized, it will be important to ensure accountability and public engagement.
LRT planning will impact our city for decades to come. Given the significant contributions made by the federal government to this project, as Members of Parliament representing ridings in the Nation's Capital, we wish to register our concerns regarding the manner in which certain recent decisions on LRT have been made.
In particular, we regret the decision to scrap plans for a key downtown LRT station at Confederation Square. Given the concentration of important sites, landmarks, business areas, cultural and government institutions in the vicinity of Confederation Square, we urge Council to review options for a station at this location.
In our view, eschewing the idea of placing a station at Confederation Square casts aside the vision for enhanced access to the Parliamentary precincts – the most recognizable landmark in our city and perhaps our country.
London's Tube has a Westminster station. Le Metro de Paris has its Assemble nationale station. Washington's subway system has more than one station near the US Congress. And for Ottawa's LRT . . . a Parliament station?
We are hereby asking our capital city's council to reconsider its decision to not have a station with a western entrance at Confederation Square and an eastern entrance east of the Canal at the Rideau Centre, as was originally planned. The LRT is indeed our city's principle investment, one which will serve us for decades to come. We look forward to an early opportunity of discussing this with you and interested councillors.
Yours sincerely,
Mauril Belanger, M.P. Ottawa-Vanier
Royal Galipeau, M.P. Ottawa-Orleans
Paul Dewar, M.P. Ottawa Centre
