The City of Ottawa has been talking about a WESTERN CORRIDOR of their light rail plan for years, and Byron Avenue has always been thrown around as a possibility.
Now that possibility is nearly a probability, after the National Capital Commission (NCC) nixed the city's request for light rail on the OTTAWA RIVER PARKWAY.
See the CBC's story here on the NCC's rejection
This leaves only Byron Avenue and Carling Avenue as options for the western part of the light rail project.
The "Save the Parkway" people have had their say, it's time for the residents of McKellar Park and other areas around Byron Avenue to be heard. To date, there has been no organized group specifically arguing against Byron Avenue as an option.
This blog is a great idea for helping pull the community together to oppose the notion of putting high speed trains through a quiet residential neighbourhood. There are those who are proposing a "grassy" barrier between the train tracks and our kids on bikes as a viable solution. Going so far as to say, that the trains will be whisper quiet, and we would come to enjoy them. Others are misleading the community into thinking "the whole thing will be buried underground". Here is a link to an analysis presented at City Council.
ReplyDeletehttp://ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/trc/2008/11-10/Document%208%20-%20Risk%20Assessment%20Report.pdf