Stop The Kettle Island Bridge

CBC Ottawa Morning – East end bridge debaters vs the NCC

Members of Sustainable Solutions, a coalition of community associations in Ottawa concerned about the NCC’s plans for a new bridge across the Ottawa River, discussed the current status of the Interprovincial Crossing’s project on CBC’s Ottawa Morning show.

Click here to listen to the show via the CBC Ottawa Morning online archives.

Scroll to June 14: East end bridge debaters vs the NCC.

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NCC Decision: 3 options to go forward

The NCC voted unanimously to go ahead to Phase 2 with three options. This is contingent on funding from the Province of Ontario—agreement to participate in next phase of the study is not clear from their statement. Phase two is expected to cost $1.7 million for each of the three funding partners and is expected to take four years to complete as opposed to three. Phase two will also include a commercial vehicle origin/ destination study.

Media coverage below:

Feb. 14, Ottawa Citizen: NCC opts to study 3 bridge routes

Feb. 14, Ottawa Sun: NCC adds 2 options to new bridge plan

Feb. 13, CBC Ottawa: Ottawa given 3 choices for new interprovincial bridge

Feb. 13, Orleans Star: Study to look at Lower Duck, Kettle Island sites NCC decides

Feb. 13, CTV Ottawa: NCC to study three locations for new inter-provincial bridge (with video clip)

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CBC Ottawa Morning – Bridge Debate

Listen to a bridge debate aired this morning on CBC:

http://www.cbc.ca/ottawamorning/archives.html

Here’s a summary of the main points made by Judy Lishman, Chair of the Manor Park Bridge Committee:

• Council has missed an opportunity to have a say in the matter. Besides, it is not a funding partner.
• Out of the studies done in the past, Kettle was in fact not chosen as the top option.
• The Phase I study didn’t look at mitigation issues. That will come later.
• Both provinces have decided that three choices deserve a second look.
• Kettle would take traffic through the longest and most heavily populated corridor.

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Gatineau states its conditions for a new bridge

Please watch the following video (in French) that was filmed yesterday at the Gatineau city council meeting that talks about the “2 conditions” for having a bridge connecting to Montée Paiement:

1. Continue to allow trucks on King Edward
2. No increased circulation (”éviter de surcharger”) on Montée Paiement

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NCC CEO interview with the Citizen Editorial Board

From the Ottawa Citizen Editorial Board Discussions:

Marie Lemay of the NCC
On Feb. 3, Marie Lemay, CEO of the National Capital Commission, spoke with the Citizen’s editorial board about the proposed bridge at Kettle Island, the potential for development in the Greenbelt and along the Ottawa River, the NCC’s 50-year vision for the capital, and whether environmental assessments really can be streamlined.

Audio clip:  http://www.ottawacitizen.com/audio/090203_lemay.mp3

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Fight continues over planned Kettle Island bridge

From CBC’s coverage of the Jan. 12th City Council Transportation Committee meeting:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2009/01/12/ot-090112-kettle-island.html

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Montfort Hospital: Facts and figures

Some facts and figures about the Montfort Hospital, which will be negatively impacted by the Kettle Island bridge.

On the expansion of Montfort:

• In 2006, the government announced a $283 million investment to expand the Montfort hospital. This will increase the size of the hospital by 125% and will add 450,000 square feet of new space.
• Furthermore, The hospital has invested $21 million in new equipment, and will be investing an additional $40 million, bringing the total to $61 million apart from the initial cost of $283 million.
• At the end of the construction and renovations, Montfort will have 289 beds available for acute care, plus 128 beds for long term care (total: 417 beds).

On services available at the end of the construction:

• Visits at the emergency will increase by 73%, and will accommodate more than 55,000 visits per year
• Intensive care unit will double in size
• Surgery rooms will rise from 7 to 11, and cases of surgery will increase from 6,090 to 9,730 a year
• 84% increase in the number of visits due to exams, medical orders, etc. for a total of 1 million visits per year
• The number of hospital employees will rise from 950 to 1,500

On training:

• Montfort will accommodate 500 students in 36 disciplines related to health care, including 260 students in medicine
• Montfort also has a key partnership with Ottawa University and is the hospital offering the most support in terms of practical experience for students in medicine

On women and children’s health:

• Increase in the number of deliveries from 1,220 to 2,700 per year.
• This year the Montfort will host 2,800 deliveries
• 18 single rooms for labour, birth, recovery and post-partum, plus 11 traditional rooms, whereas previously there were 6 labour beds and a post partum unit of 14 beds.
• Montfort will also provide a new model for providing health services to women in partnership with the community

Note that the new Montfort will include a new Health Centre for National Defence in the National Capital region, in association with DND. A new team of specialists will integrate the hospital to provide specialized care to the military.

How does the Montfort Hospital feel about the Kettle Island bridge and the impact on its ability to care for its patients? Check out the videos below for coverage of the Montfort press conference on the topic:

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Battle of Kettle Island – video updates

The Battle of Kettle Island has been updated with new features and enhancements to the animated map. Thanks again to Peter Wilson for his great efforts to produce this video, which very effectively presents the issue.

If you’ve seen the earlier version, be sure to check out the new and improved version. If you haven’t watched this video yet, there’s no time like the present.

Either way, be sure to spread the word to your friends.

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Petition Update – Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Thanks to your efforts and with the support of Madeleine Meilleur’s office, a petition against the Kettle Island bridge was formally presented earlier this month to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by Yasir Naqvi, MPP Ottawa Centre. Take a look at the videos below.

December 9, 2008

December 10, 2008

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New Video – The Battle of Kettle Island

We urge you to check out the informative, high impact video put together by Peter Wilson, a concerned citizen. This is an amazing piece of work.

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Lansdowne Video is here!

If you witnessed the madness and mayhem at Lansdowne for the Final Public Consultation on Sept 24, we’re sure you’d agree that folks in Ottawa are ready for a fight. More than 1000 people showed up, and they were mad as hell.

If you missed it, here are some of the video highlights.

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Trucks to Remain on King Edward after new bridge built

The currently proposed plan does not ban trucks from King Edward.  In fact, it is expected that there would still be significant truck volume in the downtown core if a new bridge were to be built.  So not only would existing residential areas be devastated by the Kettle Island bridge, but the downtown problem would not be solved.  See the CBC news story for more details, and watch the video below where it is suggested that the bridge could be built within 6 years:

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