Transportation Committee – meeting coverage
The consultants presented their recommendations to the City of Ottawa Transportation Committee today, and the public had an opportunity to comment on and question the findings. Strong objections were raised against Kettle Island by a large number of attendees, while a handful of Orleans residents reinforced their support – primarily based on the false perception that Kettle Island would have the worst impact on their commuting routes.
“We do not want any crossing that’s going to make our commutes, morning and afternoon, worse than they already are.”
What these east-end commuters continue to fail to realize is that this study has focused exclusively on interprovincial traffic. There is no consideration for any other traffic flow or existing gridlock within the National Capital Region, including commuting traffic from Orleans to downtown. The Kettle Island corridor, with on-ramps to the 417 essentially at ‘the split’, would have significant impacts on the commute from Orleans as thousands of new commuters and trucks from Gatineau pour onto the already congested highway.
There is a very good chance that these impacts could be just as bad or even worse than other east-end options.
Unfortunately, because these broader traffic issues are out of scope for the current project, we may never know until it is too late.
Here are a few links to media coverage of the meeting:
CBC Ottawa: Fight continues over planned Kettle Island bridge
CTV Ottawa: Residents say ‘No’ to bridge at Kettle Island
Ottawa Citizen: Residents fight over route of bridge
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