No to Kettle Island!
September 21st, 2008 Posted in Maps, Project Critique
View Interprovincial Bridge Options in a larger map
The map begs the questions: Why is Kettle Island (in red) the only choice being considered? Shouldn’t other proposed routes such as Lower Duck Island (blue) and Gatineau Airport (green) that are both shorter and impact far fewer residential neighbourhoods be given further consideration as potentially viable options?
For more details on the devastating impact that the Kettle Island bridge would have on communities in and around the proposed corridor, click here.
Tags: documents maps duck
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September 12th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Hi, I just wanted to lend my support to the effort to communicate the information on this site. I’m a Manor Park Hill resident and am, not surprisingly, concerned about the impact that a bridge at Kettle island will have on the neighbourhood. It’s great to see our concerns so well expressed and to have an Internet forum for communication.
September 12th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Hi Keith, thanks for the kind words.
September 12th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
I am also a resident of the East Manor park neighbourhood. Having just moved in it is really disappointing to find out that the city is so determined to put all this traffic through our area.
I wrote to Steven Taylor in June with a list of my concerns and found the response to be completely unhelpful, failing to address any of what I had to say. The main message from him was “this is coming and it is best for the city. Wait until the fall for the city’s decision and our justification for it. ”
I really do not understand how the city can say this is all about trucks when 1. this is not the shortest route 2. all the traffic will have to stop at Montreal road and again at Ogilvie road 3. they have admitted that over the long term King Edward will not really improve. So what is the real story? I am inclined to think that the reasoning behind Kettle Island is that it is the site most desired by Gatineau and Ottawa needs their buy in. I really don’t know what we can do about that.
I am ready to fight this as much as I can but I get the sense that the City figures this is a done deal — and the newspapers are presenting it this way too. At this point I think we need to try to figure out what kind of leverage there is to fight this.
I think we also need to go to the city and start asking them questions about what they are going to do about the problems we anticipate — how will they address vibration, how will they address noise, how will they address the bike paths, how will they address pollution… etc. How much would it cost to deal with these things? If they cannot show us that they have some idea of how they will deal with these problems and that they will have the budget to do so, I think it will help to show how untenable their plans are.
Well that is all for now. I hope we will see people show up in great numbers at the meeting at Landsdowne Park.
September 13th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Looking at the Google Maps Satellite view of the Lower Duck Island area, it looks like there is a large water filtration plant there, but otherwise only industrial land and very few residential areas.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=111918575863219249695.000456cb459b2c0383caf&ll=45.463893,-75.580959&spn=0.013966,0.037594&t=h&z=15
If you take a drive on Canotek Rd., you can see that there is little of any cultural or environmental significance in this area. It’s basically a large industrial park right next to the highway. Circumventing what appears to be a water filtration plant would surely not be a problem, hence the high scores that Duck Island received in the study.
September 13th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
It is important to know that two other studies were done on bridge crossings.
The JacPac study of 1995 concluded that Kettle Island would be the preferred site if built within 10 years, otherewise population increase and new urban development would render this site impossible.
And most interestingly, the 1999 Cartier/Totten Sims Hubick Associates study concluded that Kettle Island was the least favourable site of 3 east end site. MacLaurin Bay (Lower Duck Island in 2008 study) was second as in the 2008 study. Masson-Angers/Cumberland was by far the best site. This study projected their conclusions to 2021. The 2008 study concludes that Masson-Anger / Cumberland is the least preferred site. So what has changed?
Why Kettle Island now?
Why Kettle Island which would negatively impact 100,000 people in 8 established residential neighbourhoods, the Montfort Hospital, the RCMP stables and Musical Ride, the Aviation Museum, the Rockcliffe Airport, Cité Collégiale, bicycle and recreational paths and NCC green space??
Why Kettle Island which would reduce truck traffic in the downtown core (King Edward) by only 25%
Is it politics? The federal election? The federal ridings of Hull-Aylmer and Gatineau up for grabs?
September 13th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
Previous studies were evidently discredited by the current project team. Explanation and rationalization of fundamental changes such as those you’ve pointed out should be specifically addressed. Good questions for the Sept 24 public consultation.
More information about the JacPac and Hubicki studies are available here: http://www.rideau-rockcliffe.com/ottawa_crossing_e.shtml
September 14th, 2008 at 7:56 am
It would be interesting to know who owns the properties that the proposed route would go over, e.g. Kettle Island and on the PQ side.
What compensations are planned and who will benefit?
When somewhat illogical decisions are being made, a better understanding may arise if one “follows the money”.
September 14th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Why on earth would anybody wan to build (the bridge)it in Kettle Island is realy beyond me. First concern should be public welfare, I am wrong?
Than what about Montfort Hospital, that is located just next to Aviation Parkway. What about children that live in affected area, probably few hundred or more. We all know that air polution is linked to so many childhood diseses: astma, cancer… Than why would you build this forsaken bridge just tick next to all this residential areas. why?????
September 14th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
The best place to ask those questions is at the public hearings on Sept 26 at Landsdowne Park!
September 18th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
The decision to chose Kettle Island as the only site for an interprovincial bridge is a strictly political decision, based on reasons one can only too easily speculate. The communities of Manor Park, Carson Grove, Cyrville, Vanier, New Edinburgh, Lindenlea and Rockcliffe have to come to the meeting on Thursday Sept25th and as one voice oppose this decision. We can stop the “fix” if we work together.
September 18th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
You’re right – we can stop this. The funding partners of this project (NCC, Ontario Ministry of Transportation the Quebec Ministry of Transportation Quebec) are by no means obliged to accept the consultants’ recommendations. Community impacts were not given sufficient weighting or consideration by the technically motivated project team. But by attending the final public consultation in mass numbers, by writing letters and emails to our politicians at all levels, and by publicizing our efforts and our concerns through the media, we can make the point to the funding partners and to their political counterparts that communities do matter. If we make enough noise, they will listen.
September 19th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Please add “Dunbarton Court” as a community which would be negatively impacted by a Kettle island Corridor.
How about a Public Rally to rename a portion of the Aviation Parkway just north of Montreal Road: “Montfort Motorway” (not sure of the French translation)? The workers and residents of Montfort Hospital are just metres away from the proposed corridor to the bridge; just think of the negative impact of all those 18-wheelers on their health!
September 19th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Sorry i made a mistake on the date of the public meeting, it is WEDNESDAY September 24th, 2008, see you there!
September 20th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Harry – Thanks for pointing out yet another community impacted by the Kettle Island route. Dunbarton Court has been added to our list. I hope to see you and all of your neighbours at the final public consultation!
September 21st, 2008 at 3:50 am
I’d just like to point out that your map shows both routes ending at Boulevard Maloney on the Quebec side. Actually the routes continue right up to Highway 50. This section is the tricky bit for both the Kettle Island and the Lower Duck options. KI goes throught the residential area of Montee Paiement. These residents are angry and have started a group to oppose the bridge. The LD route ends up running through high end lake front property. Not a great option either. Trucks and people just don’t mix.
September 23rd, 2008 at 8:42 am
I’m one of those residents, and not really interested of having a four lane passage thirty feet from the back of my house. This bridge project planification should of been done a long, long time ago, now with all the new housing projects that literally boomed out, it is too late, yes an interprovincial liaison is in fact needed, we all know that, but to who’s loss…..
September 23rd, 2008 at 9:15 am
I am also a resident of Fontenelle street and a neighbor of Robert and I completely agree with him. I am really not interested of having a boulevard at the back of my house. My husband and I bought our house there because of the splendide view that we have on the golf ground and the tranquility that it offers. We are upset and we completely oppose to the project.
September 23rd, 2008 at 10:47 am
I also don’t wish this lunacy on anyone affected by Duck Island: safe to say you don’t build a major truck route through residential neibhbourhoods.
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:48 am
From Hwy 50/Templeton, QC. crossing at Lower Duck Island east of the sewage treatment plant/industrial park seems like a very viable route to do linking with Hwy 174 at Greens Creek. No populace to speak of and the province is about to do work on Hwy 174 and the split to support increased traffic from Rockland-Orleans. Seems like a good time to get it all done in one fell swoop. Anywhere else is pure folly and they will run into hurricane force winds from residents hollering at them…can’t they understand??
September 24th, 2008 at 4:07 am
I am a Canadian civil engineer and I design several bridges in Canada and in Europe.
I can’t believe the consultants chose Kettle Island. It is more expensive and above all destroying several established communities (15 or 16).
It is evident that the Lower Duck passage is less disruptive even if they need to expropriate a few residents (around 79 for Quebec side according to the consultant.
I would offer those families 150% of the market value of their properties to compensate for the inconvenient of having to relocate. This solution is a lot less damageable than destroying the health (truck pollution is carcinogenic and the cause of numerous respiratory diseases)and quality of life of 15 to 16 established communities in Ottawa. The consultant Roche was only proposing to relocate the MRI inside Montfort Hospital: of course we will need those machines after several years of exposition to their nonsense corridor! And their acoustic barrier are very weak if you ask to people living along the Queensway)
Furthermore CNN betrayed us: A Parkway is not a Highway for 2000 trucks day and night plus a few thousands cars a day. Who is going to compensate for the depreciation of our homes?
Having lived in a lot of cities in Canada and in Europe, I am totally disappointed by those poor solutions. Ottawa Mayor and Gatineau Mayor should be obliged to live on the border of that Highway for 10 years with their family to punish them for their lack of vision.
This is the first time I am ashamed to live here. Is this Canada Capital city? Can we accept another King Edward mistake!
Every government who has backed and financed such a poor solution should be remember the day of their election…
Ottawa citizen wake up! What is more important People or truck industry. Why so many communities in the West End are celebrating the fact to be kept out of that mess…
Their is a less damaging solution: Lower Duck but I would prefer a circular to help everybody (Queensway is already a mess everyday at rush hours)
September 24th, 2008 at 8:07 am
Has anyone started a petition? I was thinking of bring one tonight to the meeting for people to sign.
September 24th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
At the down of the new century, population of this planet is watching in awe at the results of the previous century development efforts, unveiling in front of their eyes. Total destruction and environmental degradation, immense disrespect for the eco system which is resulting in global warming, pollution and toxicity of fresh water systems, depletion of forests and humans being forced to bread poisoned and polluted air, are just some of the results of that absurdity.
And just when we thought that a mindset has changed, and that we as a human race have started to realise catastrophe that we are facing and begin to understand consequences of our reckless behaviour, we all of a sudden are faced with a bitter truth, which is that relics of the past are still here. They are not willing to surrender easily.
They did not have enough of bringing highways on doorsteps of our houses. They did not have enough of the old way of thinking in which cars, tracks, factories, chemicals, commerce and all other things that come along with so called “era of progress” are put ahead of humans, citizens, farmers. The health and well being of the very same who where paying for all those projects, their communities were totally disregarded and were treated as “collateral damage”. Unfortunately we are facing the same old story again.
This time they have paid 4 million dollars to prove validity of their claim, that the best location for building the new bridge is 2-3 kilometres down the stream of the old bridge, precisely Kettle Island. Four million dollars was paid to prove something that was abandoned as idea in many previous studies. Something that, smart citizens of this beautiful city, had figured out without fee, long time ago. That is the fact that Kettle Island is not good location to build the bridge. Four million dollars of tax payer’s money, to produce study which is directly against citizens, their health, their interests and their will. We do stand a right to demand not just results of this flawed study, but to go behind those numbers and find out what methodologies were used what parameters and standards. How and where did they conduct measurements and gathered data? There are those among us who are familiar with a subject and methodologies and who will be more then willing to crunch those numbers and give second opinion on this. For all this reasons, we demand that all that be posted on a web site so that further analysis can be conducted.
All these results and all findings that were presented so far are raising some eye brows about the due process. Some of us would maybe be inclined to believe that results are not bias and are really objective, had it not been for the words and deeds of the Mayor across the river who publicly complained that they have already spent millions of dollars in widening the road to accommodate new bridge that will go over the Kettle Island. This of course is raising another question. Did he know something well in advance what we didn’t? Had he been told that the bridge will be built on that location even before the results and recommendations of so called “group of experts” and “independent” consultants were out? I think that now we all know the answer to this question. The only question that we might have is who is that who told him that. Mission of the NCC, according to their WEB site is “to create pride and unity through Canada’s Capital Region”. With the way CEO of NCC started, we hardly will be able to accomplish that. Yet she and some city councillors are asking for politicians not to interfere into the process. What process?
My dear citizens, we have elected those politicians in democratic process and we want them to be accountable to their citizens and when we ask them to do something on our behalf that is precisely what they should be doing. So that is not interference, that is called direct democracy in which we the citizens have the highest power and right to decide what is good and what is not for us. We do not need to pay 4 million dollars to someone, who is going to tell us that bringing 16 wheeler tracks on our doorsteps is good and harmless thing.
Same things should be with our councillors, who should be working together instead of ganging up against each other. That is not what they were elected to do. This is the city of all their citizens and it is in the interest of all citizens not to allow process to be hijacked by the group of none elected but rather appointed individuals like the CEO of the NCC and consulting group that applies third world country sub standards and methodologies in order to prove somebody’s point.
To all those who are propagating the idea of Kettle Island bridge, we citizens of this city would like to send message, which we know will be disappointing for them, and that is that we will stand firm and resolute against that and will do everything to prevent that from happening.
To the Mayor across the river, who jumped ahead of curve to widen the road and welcomes columns and columns of tracks coming to his city across the new bridge, we will have to say sorry to disappoint you. There will be no bridge over the Kettle Island, and the only pollution and smell that you will be inhaling for now will still be the one that comes from that paper factory. I know that you were eager to augment and diversify that smell with the one from the heavy tracks and thousand of cars which would be coming and going across the bridge, but obviously you did not count on democratic process on this side of the river. You probably were reassured that there will be no one, no citizenry will stand the voice, and that instead, there will be smoke and mirrors democratic process in which appointed officials and 4 million worth study will serve as a proof of concept.
We invite citizens of Ottawa who are not familiar with this area to come and see with their own eyes what tones of concrete, cement and heavy machinery is going to destroy, what kind of beauty and pristine nature they are going to ravage if we let them do that. And believe me they are quite capable of doing that. They do have great record, one which is stretching all the way throughout the last century up to these days.
We should not produce yet another catastrophe of planning, just like the one that students of architecture across world are learning on the example of the King Edward Street and MacDonald-Cartier Bridge. That will be another example of poor planning, stupidity, short-sighted vision and lack of respect for the citizens of this city. No other major city and their responsible citizens in a western world, with exception of some North American cities, would recommend something like this as a solution in a 21 century. No one who has a conscience and who cares for humans, nature and future of this city would accept this kind of solution, nor should we. We all have to stand united against this proposal. Let us teach them a lesson, one that they should never forget, lesson of democracy in which citizens are empowered and capable to make reasonable decisions which will serve them well.
September 24th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
This is typical of the NCC, they’re a secretive bunch who seem to think they can do anything they want without having to answer to anyone.
September 24th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
I am pondering the amount of effort put forth in conducting environmental assessments to ensure the integrity of the habitat of plant, birds, fish etc. While I fully support this activity, humans also have habitat, we also have breeding grounds and the impact on our lives deserve at least equivalent consideration.
tom martin
September 26th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
I am completely opposed to a bridge in the Kettle Island area. I think the environment and people comme first. My opinion is that two bridges should be built – one farther to the east and the other to the west including a highway that circles outside built-up areas of both Gatineau and Ottawa. From there, a few roads linking the trucks to different areas in the cities. This way the trucks would only use the road that brings them directly or closest to destination, ie. less circulation on city streets. I don’t know but this is a way of spreading them so that there are less of them circulating at one place. If something was done about the noise and fumes from many of the vehicles, etc. some of it would be more bearable.
September 27th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
how would the completion of A50 & A13 plus a dedicated bus service from Gatineau to employers in eastern Ottawa (NRC, Montfort shop on Innes etc.) affect this dilema?