New Francophone website opposes Kettle Island
A group of Francophone citizens concerned about the negative imacts of a bridge at Kettle Island are working on a new website. Congratulations to its creators.
The official launch is expected in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.
MPCA Annual General Meeting
The MPCA AGM is coming up this week. In addition to the keynote speaker, Stephen Hazell from the Sierra Club, local politicians – Mauril Belanger, Madeleine Meilleur and Jacques Legendre – have all agreed to speak. No doubt the bridge issue will figure in their remarks.
Please attend if you can.
———–
Manor Park Community Association
Annual General Meeting
Thursday, June 18, 2009
7:30 p.m.
at
Terry Fox Youth Centre
1805 Gaspé Ave.
(east of St.Laurent and south of Sandridge)
• MPCA reports & updates
• Election of officers and directors
• Remarks from elected representatives
Guest Speaker
Stephen Hazell
Executive Director, Sierra Club of Canada
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Interprovincial Transit Study – Public Consultation
The recently initiated Interprovincial Transit Study is reaching out for public consultation. Within the initial round of consultation, one event has already occurred, but there is a second event next week in Gatineau:
Tuesday May 19 2009
4:30 to 9:00 p.m.
Gatineau Maison du Citoyen – Agora
25 Laurier Street, Gatineau
Click here for details about the public consultation process.
It is important to note that the Kettle Island crossing is the least effective crossing in terms of public transit usage.
If you are unable to attend these events, click here to submit your comments online.
Tags: transitUrgent: Fierce lobbying required NOW!
URGENT!
Lobbying from the Kettle Island NOW side is expected to be fierce.
We need to combat this with fierce lobbying of our own.
Please send your letter as a personal email TODAY to each of the following councillors who might be wavering (see letter below for guidance):
Rick Chiarelli
Rick.Chiarelli@ottawa.ca
Maria McRae
Maria.Mcrae@Ottawa.ca
Peggy Feltmate
Peggy.Feltmate@ottawa.ca
Alex Cullen (just in case)
Alex.Cullen@Ottawa.ca
Also include for good measure: Steve.Desroches@ottawa.ca , Diane.Deans@ottawa.ca , Eli.El-Chantiry@ottawa.ca , Jan.Harder@ottawa.ca , Kitchissippi@ottawa.ca (Christine Leadman) , and Shad.Qadri@ottawa.ca
———-
Dear Councillor,
I am writing regarding the issue of the inter-provincial bridge study which will be considered by Council on February 11, 2009. Council needs to show leadership by coming to a decision on this file; its decision should be fair and in the best interest of the citizens of Ottawa.
I believe that the citizens of Ottawa need a transportation vision that keeps trucks away from established communities, improves public transportation, and delivers economic benefits.
Of all the east end options, the Kettle Island corridor will affect the health and safety of thousands of Ottawa residents and have the greatest social impact. Selecting the Kettle Island corridor will not solve the downtown truck problem – it will only repeat the mistakes of the King Edward corridor.
The Kettle Island option does not integrate into future land use plans on either side of the river nor does it link to public transit plans both current and future. There would be considerably greater economic benefits from options further down-stream, which would link the industrial sections of both sides.
I believe the position of the Province of Ontario in its letter to the NCC is correct and fair—the top three options need to be further reviewed, taking into account the important factors of impact on existing communities, encouragement of public transit usage, and stimulation of economic development.
I urge you to support the motion put forward by Jacques Legendre and Georges Bédard that Council support the provinces on the matter of the inter-provincial river crossing environmental assessment.
Regards,
(concerned citizen)
———-
Re: Build the bridge — now
Submitted to the Ottawa Citizen:
————-
No construction jobs before late 2011
Re: Build the bridge – now
The only jobs that will benefit from the next phase of the Interprovincial Crossings project are those of the consultants conducting the environmental assessment. The vast majority of the work – the actual construction – would not start for at least two and a half years, only after the environmental assessment has been completed and contracts have been awarded.
Not one construction job would be created by this project before late 2011. And who knows what the economy has in store for us then.
But one thing is certain. The next phase of the project, regardless of which options are taken forward, will do little to bolster our current economic state.
So stop pinning your hopes for an economic recovery on a quick bridge decision. It’s not the miracle cure that you portray it to be.
Christophe Credico
Ottawa
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NCC decision day: Friday the 13th
The next NCC public board meeting is scheduled for Friday, February 13th. The only item on the agenda for this meeting is the bridge.
As you are probably aware, the NCC holds this final cards for the next steps of this project. They are the most critical body to address.
Please attend if you can. And if you have any final words or thoughts that you want to share with the NCC about the bridge, be sure to do so before that meeting.
Refer to any material on this website, particularly the Letters to Decision Makers category for ideas about what to say.
Your best bet is to send your feedback to Lyne Lwow and ask her to forward it to the Board of Directors:
Lyne Lwow
Manager, Executive Office Administration and Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer / Gestionnaire, administration du bureau de la direction et adjointe exécutive à la première dirigeante
National Capital Commission / Commission de la capitale nationale
(613) 239-5271
llwow@ncc-ccn.ca
The NCC will likely be influenced by City Council’s decision on Feb 11th.
Your fierce lobbying of City Councillors is required now! Click here for details.
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The NCC Opens Its Doors
Friday, February 13, 2009
Public Board of Directors Meeting:
11:30 am to 12:30 pm
Join us or watch the live webcast on the NCC website!
Location:
National Arts Centre, Panorama Room
53 Elgin Street, Ottawa
Agenda on our website:
http://www.capitaleducanada.gc.ca/bins/ncc_web_content_page.asp?cid=16302-103085-95025&lang=1
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Ottawa City Council Meeting: Wednesday Feb 11th
Ottawa City Council meets on Wednesday, Feb. 11, to make a decision on the inter-provincial river crossing EA. The City’s decision will influence the NCC’s final decision on Feb 13th.
The meeting will be held at Andrew S. Haydon Hall beginning at 10:00 a.m. Attend if you can, and don’t forget your button. Click here for the full agenda.
In advance of the meeting, please urge City Councillors to support the provinces in their recommendation for further study of the top three options with respect to impact on communities, economic benefit, and transit. See the sample letter below for ideas on what to day.
Letters for distribution to all councillors can be sent to Dawn Whelan, 613-580-2424 ext. 21837, Dawn.Whelan@ottawa.ca.
The councilors who voted last time in favour of carrying two or three corridors forward were:
Marianne Wilkinson, Christine Leadman, Rick Chiarelli, Peggy Feltmate, Diane Holmes, Maria McRae, Diane Deans, Peter Hume, Glenn Brooks, Georges Bédard Jacques Legendre, and Clive Doucet.
It is time well spent to thank these councilors for this support.
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Sample Letter to City Councillors:
Dear Councillor,
I am writing regarding the issue of the inter-provincial bridge study which will be considered by Council on February 11, 2009. Council needs to show leadership by coming to a decision on this file, and its decision should be fair and in the best interest of the citizens of Ottawa.
I believe that the citizens of Ottawa need a transportation vision that keeps trucks away from established communities, improves public transportation, and delivers economic benefits.
The Kettle Island corridor will affect the health and safety of thousands of Ottawa residents and have the greatest social impact of all the east end options. Selecting Kettle Island will not solve the downtown truck problem – it will only repeat the mistakes of the King Edward corridor.
The Kettle Island option does not integrate into future land use plans on either side of the river, nor does it link to public transit plans both current and future. There would be considerably greater economic benefits from options further down-stream, which would link the industrial sections of both sides.
I believe the position of the Province of Ontario in its letter to the NCC is correct and fair—the top three options need to be further reviewed, taking into account the important factors of impact on existing communities, encouragement of public transit usage, and stimulation of economic development. I urge you to support the motion put forward by Jacques Legendre and Georges Bédard that Council support the provinces on the matter of the inter-provincial river crossing environmental assessment.
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Quebec coalition on the move against Kettle Island
A new Quebec coalition in favour of a better public transit system for Gatineau and in favour of a bridge at the Gatineau airport will be announced on Wednesday at a formal press conference.
When: Wednesday, January 21 at 11:30am
Where: Maison du Citoyen, 25 Laurier, Gatineau
Room: Salle Vidéotron
Those of you who are available to show support are invited to attend in support.
NCC to discuss Kettle Island, Jan. 22, 1:00 pm
The Interprovincial Crossing and the recommendation of NCE-Roche will be discussed at the NCC’s Public Board Meeting on Thursday Jan. 22. The meeting will be held at the Westin Hotel Ballroom beginning at 1:00 pm. Unlike the Dec. 3 meeting, there will not be an opportunity for public comment.
Nevertheless, a presence from Kettle Island Opponents will help reinforce our message and determination. You are encouraged to attend if at all possible. There is a good chance that next steps for the project could be determined at this meeting.
Click here for the meeting agenda.
If you cannot attend in person, you may wish to watch the live webcast of the event. Click here and look for the ‘Board meeting live webcast’ button at the top right of the page.
If you have any inclination to express your thoughts on the Kettle Island bridge to the NCC, do so before the meeting. At this point, your best bet would be to send an email to:
Marie Lemay – CEO: mlemay@ncc-ccn.ca
I would also recommend to cc: info@ncc-ccn.ca, with a request to distribute your comments to the NCC Board of Directors prior to the January 22 meeting.
For ideas about what to say, please reference our earlier Dear Elected Representative: post, as well as any other material on this website.
Tags: NCCDear Elected Representative:
If you are opposed to the Kettle Island bridge, NOW is the time to write to your elected representatives. Decisions could be made imminently so it is essential to formally voice your concerns without delay.
The following letter has been prepared to give you some ideas, but feel free to edit in any way. And please make use of any other material posted on this website if you’re looking for more information or ideas.
See below for details about who to send this to.
———————————————————————-
Dear [elected representative],
I am writing to you to ask that you reject the choice of Kettle Island as a crossing point for a new inter-provincial bridge for Ottawa.
Most citizens of Ottawa agree that a new bridge is needed across the Ottawa River, primarily to remove large truck traffic from the downtown Ottawa core. A recent technical study has concluded that the crossing point of the new bridge should be in the east end of the city of Ottawa, across Kettle Island, chiefly because this site would “attract” the most trucks.
In addition, the City of Ottawa now proposes to ban truck traffic from the present truck route, the King Edward corridor, as soon as the new bridge is built – because of the negative impacts of truck traffic on human health and well being. In other words, heavy truck traffic will be funnelled across the new bridge, despite the fact that the proposed location is a densely populated residential and recreational area.
I am writing to ask you to act now to ensure that the proposed Kettle Island location be rejected, for the following reasons:
- A truck and commuter highway would be built along the most heavily populated corridor of all the options studied. Homes and quality of life would be destroyed.
- This corridor would route hazardous materials and 18-wheeled trucks through several communities. It increases car and truck traffic in established residential communities and adds traffic to already congested roads – and in a location where pedestrian and bicycle traffic is encouraged.
- National institutions such as the Aviation Museum and RCMP musical ride stables are located along this corridor and subject to the same hazards. It jeopardizes the future of Rockcliffe Airport and the operations of the RCMP musical ride, its pastures, stables and museum.
- The truck route would pass right beside the Montfort Hospital and Long Term Care Facility; trucks would block its ambulance entrance and jeopardize the care of its patients.
- It would turn the Aviation Parkway into a four-lane truck route and the Rockcliffe Parkway into a commuter route with the loss of usable recreational paths and parkland.
- It would negatively impact the environmentally significant Kettle Island, which is owned by The Nature Conservancy of Canada.
- It would not address transportation needs of the 21st century—public transit and future growth outside the core.
The consultants have claimed that the Kettle Island site would be the cheapest option, but that conclusion was reached only by loading other options with costs such as highway widening that were to occur anyway, and excluding similar costs from the Kettle Island calculations. Moreover, once the cost of mitigation of all the negative effects is included, Kettle Island is no longer the cheapest option.
Despite the fact that there are much better options, it is now being proposed that the technical study move on to a more detailed examination of the Kettle Island site without regard to the serious failings in the first phase of the study.
Please help us to ensure that the Kettle Island site is removed from consideration.
Yours truly,
———————————————————————-
Who to send this to:
While you are encouraged to send you comments to everyone listed on our Contacts page, key influencers and decision-makers who require your immediate attention and focus are as follow. Don’t delay!
Ottawa City Councillors
Send an email to andrew.lomas@ottawa.ca and ask him to circulate your message to the Mayor and to all Councillors.
Dalton McGuinty, Premier
Legislative Building
Queen’s Park
Toronto ON M7A 1A1
Fax:(416) 325-3745.
dmcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
Honourable Jim Bradley
Minister of Transportation
Correspondence Unit
3rd Floor, Ferguson Block
77 Wellesley Street West
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1Z8
jbradley.mpp@liberal.ola.org
The Honourable John Gerretsen
Minister of the Environment
12th Floor, 135 St. Clair Avenue West
Toronto, Ontario
M4V 1P5
Telephone: (416) 314-6790
Fax: (416) 314-7337
jgerretsen.mpp@liberal.ola.org
Hon. Madeleine Meilleur
MPP for Ottawa-Vanier
Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs
237 Montreal Rd Vanier, ON K1L 6C7
Telephone: (613) 744-4484 Fax: (613) 744-0889
E-mail: mmeilleur.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
Hon. Yasir Naqvi, MPP
MPP for Ottawa-Centre
204- 411 Roosevelt Ave.
Ottawa ON K2A 3X9
Tel: 613-722-6414
Fax: 613-722-6703
ynaqvi.mpp@liberal.ola.org
Hon. Phil McNeely, MPP
MPP for Ottawa-Orléans
6- 110 Bearbrook Rd
Gloucester ON K1B 5R2
Tel 613-834-8679
Fax 613-834-7647
pmcneely.mpp@liberal.ola.org
Hon. Jim Watson
MPP for Ottawa West-Nepean
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Constituency
201- 2249 Carling Ave
Ottawa ON K2B 7E9
Tel 613-721-8075
Fax 613-721-5756
jwatson.mpp@liberal.ola.org
The Honourable Lawrence Cannon
Minister of Foreign Affairs*
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Telephone: (613) 992-5516
Fax: (613) 992-6802
EMail: Cannon.L@parl.gc.ca
Web Site: www.lawrencecannon.com
* We understand that Lawrence Cannon will retain responsibility for the NCC
Russell Mills – Chair
National Capital Commission
202–40 Elgin Street
Ottawa, Canada K1P 1C7
613-239-5000 or 1 800 465-1867 (toll free)
info@ncc-ccn.ca, ATTN: Russell Mills
Marie Lemay – CEO
National Capital Commission
202–40 Elgin Street
Ottawa, Canada K1P 1C7
613-239-5000 or 1 800 465-1867 (toll free)
mlemay@ncc-ccn.ca
Your attendance at the City Council meeting is important
Although we cannot speak, attendance at Wednesday’s council meeting is important. The meeting begins at 10:00a.m, Wednesday Jan. 14, at City Hall.
City Council will vote on the recommendation of the Transportation Committee to carry forward multiple sites.
Wear your buttons and show your support for the fight against the Kettle Island bridge! No signs allowed in the Council chamber.
And if you haven’t already done so, now would be a very good time to send comments to the City of Ottawa. You can send an email directly to andrew.lomas@ottawa.ca and ask that your message be circulated to the mayor and to all councillors.
Tags: city councilTransportation Committee Meeting – a detailed account
From Judy Lishman, Chair, Manor Park Bridge Committee:
After a marathon session of Transportation Committee yesterday, (beginning at 9:00 a.m .and still going at 11:30p.m.) Councillor Wilkinson tabled a motion to recommend that the top 3 bridge sites proceed to phase 2. The motion passed 5 to 3. This is not the ideal outcome, but it was a victory for us considering the committee had been told by the city lawyer that because of the motion the council passed in June 2007 to support Kettle Island, any new motion on the subject would be out of order. This procedural debate took up the first 90 minutes of the meeting and was left unresolved. I had the opportunity to talk about this fix at city hall on CBO morning and CTV noon hour show and in an interview with CFRA. West end councillors led by Alex Cullen had voted in June 2007, to name KI as their preferred option in exchange for support from Rainer Bloess and the other far east end councillors’ support to take all west end bridge sites out of the study. Bloess and Cullen continued to support each others’ positions all day yesterday.
Steve Taylor then presented the report, followed by presentations from the public. The far east end was represented by 7 or so community association presidents who spoke as a group and whose only argument was that they didn’t want the extra traffic on 174 from a bridge in the greenbelt. Then they left. It was obvious that they were all show and no substance.
Two speakers from Lowertown spoke about the need to remove all the trucks from King Edward when the new bridge was built, but did not support any particular corridor. This position on trucks is supported by an OMB ruling and by a city resolution. This confirms our recent suspicions that when a new bridge is built, it will receive not 40% of the trucks from King Edward but 100% of them with the accompanying increase in all the health and safety impacts if it is built at KI. Taylor was pressed hard by the councillors to clarify this situation but as usual spoke out of both sides of his mouth. This situation has huge impacts on the whole decision making model and clarification is essential before any final decision is made on which corridor(s) proceeds to phase 2.
Two west end people spoke against preserving west end corridors and the remaining 40 or so speakers spoke eloquently and passionately against Kettle Island until after 6:30. Councillors Legendre and Bedard were in top form and fought tirelessly to oppose Kettle Island. They took every opportunity to hold Taylor to account and were highly critical of the fact that they were being asked to accept a report that was only available to them in summary and that the full report, which they did not have, was only in English. There were many times that Taylor’s credibility was questioned and, in fact, he was caught out in a direct lie to the councillors. Jacques and George by directing questions to our delegations allowed us extra time to make our case. Without their herculean efforts, we would not have achieved this step in the right direction.
There are still not enough votes to carry this resolution through council, but in the face of the forces lined up against us yesterday morning, this resolution to carry 3 sites forward was a monumental achievement. We still need to fight for the rejection of Kettle Island outright, and the truck situation will give us new ammunition. We are gaining ground.
Tags: transportation committeeTransportation Committee recommends 2nd site for futher study
Following the strong public reaction against the consultants’ presentation of Kettle Island as the preferred corridor at the Transportation Committee meeting yesterday, the committee is recommending that the NCC take forward a second corridor, at Lower Duck Island, for further study in Phase 2 of the project.
See the CBC News article here:
CBC Ottawa: NCC should look at 2nd site for interprovincial bridge: Ottawa committee
City council must decide Wednesday whether to endorse the committee’s recommendation and ask the NCC to consider both east-end corridors for the second phase of the environmental assessment study.
If you haven’t already done so, now would be a very good time to send comments to your mayor and city councilors.
Mayor Larry O’Brien can be reached here: http://www.mayorlarry.ca/tell-larry/
Councilors can be reached here: http://www.ottawa.ca/city_hall/mayor_council/councillors/index_en.html
Alternatively, you can send an email directly to andrew.lomas@ottawa.ca and ask that your message be circulated to all councillors.
Tags: transportation committeeTransportation 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
Tags: transportation committeeTransportation Committe Meeting – Reminder
REMINDER: A special meeting of the City of Ottawa Transportation Committee is being held to receive the Phase 1 final report of The Interprovincial Crossings Study. The consultants have recommended that the Kettle Island option proceed to Phase 2 of the study.
The agenda is now posted, and may be found at http://www.ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/trc/2009/01-12/agendaindex26.htm
This meeting is the last public forum to express opposition to a bridge at Kettle Island. Each speaker will be allowed 5 minutes. To register please contact Rosemary.Nelson@ottawa.ca or by phone (613) 5802424 ext.21624
The meeting will be held in Andrew Haydon Hall at City Hall on Monday, January 12th at 9:30 a.m.
Please plan to attend, even if only for a few minutes. If you cannot attend, written submissions may be sent to Rosemary Nelson in advance of the meeting date.
Click here to view the previous posting on stopthebridge.org about this meeting.
Coalition reponse to Kettle Island
A coalition of communities submitted an open editorial to the Ottawa Citizen, formally rejecting the Kettle Island bridge, and addressing some of the recent publications of Citizen columnist, Ken Gray, who has repeatedly dismissed objections to the bridge.
The Op Ed was published on Jan. 5, and is signed by 13 representatives of communities that would be negatively impacted by the Kettle Island bridge.
Click here to read the Op Ed.
Tags: coalitionA new Kettle Island online discussion forum
A new online discussion forum has been created by a concerned citizen. Check it out and bookmark it as another important Kettle Island reference site: http://www.here2yap.com.
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
City of Ottawa Transportation Committee meeting – Your participation is required
There is a special City of Ottawa Transportation Committee Meeting scheduled for Monday, January 12, 2009, at 9:30 a.m., in the Council Chambers for the purpose of considering the Interprovincial Crossings Study. The NCC will present Phase 1 Study Findings and Recommendations.
The public will have an opportunity to speak. Each speaker is allowed 5 minutes. Registrations are now being accepted by Rosemary Nelson at 613 580-2424 ext. 21624 or by email Rosemary.Nelson@ottawa.ca
It is important for us to attend this meeting to show the City our opposition to a bridge at Kettle Island. It will be our only opportunity to speak to the City.
If you are available during the day, or even if you work downtown and can spend an hour at the meeting, please plan to attend. The agenda and schedule of the meeting will be posted on the City of Ottawa website at http://ottawa.ca/cgi-bin/docs.pl?lang=en in early January. If you can attend, please wear your “No Bridge at Kettle Island” button.
If you need any help putting together your presentation, please contact your community association and/or reference any content presented on stopthe bridge.org. Judy Lishman, chair of the Manor Park bridge committee, has specifically volunteered to coach you through your presentations. She can be reached at dlishman@sympatico.ca.
NCC Board of Directors is Listening
At the December 3 NCC open doors AGM, a contingent of over 200 citizens from Rockcliffe Mews, Manor Park, Lindenlea, Overbrook, Rockcliffe Park, Lowertown, New Edinburgh, Fairhaven, Carson Grove, Gatineau, and other affected communities voiced their concerns over the proposed Kettle Island interprovincial crossing and parkway truck route. Kettle island opponents dominated the question period and got the attention of the NCC Commissioners.
Presentations, most barely squeaking into the allotted 3 minutes, blended personal appeals with hard data and research. A broad range of topics and issues were covered—the NCC mandate and noble purpose; the consultants’ flawed study with emphasis on the study’s skewed weightings and lack of transparency; public health and safety concerns; detrimental affects on the natural environment and recreational green space; threats to national institutions and tourist attractions; and the negative impact on the Montfort Hospital.
As each speaker returned to their seat, audience members cheered and waved bilingual signs that read, “A capital for people, not trucks” and “Kettle Island Bridge—a capital mistake.”
For the Board of Directors, it was no doubt a long evening after a long day, yet the Commissioners remained attentive throughout, taking notes and occasionally asking questions. One member, Dr. Adel Ayed, a physicist by profession, requested a copy of opponents’ analysis of the consultants’ weighting of evaluation criteria. CEO, Marie Lemay, reported that 1,678 letters had been received about the Kettle Island Bridge and were being addressed. Later she stated that the NCC would be reassessing its parkway policy.
At the close of the meeting NCC Chair, Russell Mills, thanked the Kettle Island opponents for taking the time to inform the NCC Board so thoroughly about the issue. Up until now, he said, Commissioners have been relying on reports in the media to provide information.
The NCC is listening and their doors are indeed open.
Tags: NCCTown hall meeting: December 1 at Overbrook Community Centre
Want to learn more about the proposed Kettle Island bridge in an open, bilingual forum hosted by your fellow community members? Mark your calendars:
Homes and Highways Don’t Mix
Monday, December 1st
7:00 pm
Overbrook Community Centre
31 Quill Road (view map)
This is a great opportunity to better understand the current situation, to see what steps are being taken to prevent the Kettle Island bridge, and to get involved in the fight.
Tags: town hallNCC Meeting – Final Details – Your participation is critical
PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND. IT IS IMPORTANT TO SHOW THE NCC YOUR OPPOSITION TO A BRIDGE AT KETTLE ISLAND.
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The NCC Opens Its Doors
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Public Board of Directors Meeting
Annual General Meeting
Learn more about the NCC’s achievements and its plans for the year ahead. Share your ideas and comments with NCC board members about a bridge at Kettle Island.
5:15 pm Registration
6:15 pm Draw and posting of participants
6:30 pm Opening remarks by the Chair and CEO
7 pm Question and comment period
10 pm Meeting ends
A draw will determine participation during the question and comment period. Register in advance or on the night of the meeting. A follow-up will cover those questions and comments not heard during the meeting. The allotted time for each question/comment is five minutes (three minutes for the speaker and two minutes for the NCC’s response).
Hilton Lac-Leamy, Beethoven Room
3 Boulevard du Casino, Gatineau
Tags: NCC
Stop the Bridge: T-shirts, bumper stickers, yard signs, etc.
A Manor Park resident who also happens to be a graphic artist has contributed to the bridge fight by coming up with some anti-Kettle Island Bridge t-shirts, bumper stickers, yard signs, you name it…
These are available for purchase at http://www.cafepress.com/littleredshark/6192210.
Stock up on these items and show your support. They would make great early Christmas gifts for friends, family, and neighbours.
A percentage of the proceeds will be donated to support the anti-Kettle Island Bridge campaign.
Tags: bumper stickers, signs, t-shirtsNCC Board of Directors meeting – December 3rd
The next NCC Board of Directors meeting has been scheduled for December 3rd, 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm, at the Hilton Lac Leamy. The doors open at 5:30 pm and people can register to speak then. However, at 6:20 pm names will be drawn to determine who will actually get a chance to speak. In any case, written presentations can be submitted to the NCC either before or at the meeting. The tentative plan is to allow 3 minutes per speaker. Details will be confirmed this week.
The formal agenda for the meeting has not yet been established, but it is essential that as many people as possible attend to present your concerns directly to the NCC Board of Directors about the proposed Kettle Island bridge.
See you there.
Tags: NCCVolunteers needed to circulate petitions
Two formal petitions have been prepared to protest the Kettle Island recommendation: a provincial petition supported by MPP Madeleine Meilleur, and a federal petition supported by MP Mauril Belanger. Once a sufficient number of signatures has been collected, these will be formally presented to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and to the Federal House of Commons.
Your help is needed to participate in a door-to-door campaign to collect signatures. We need as many signatures from as many communities as possible. This is your chance to make a difference.
If you are willing to help, please contact Ron Cairns at rcairns191@rogers.com
Tags: petitionYour top priority: Submit your comments
The strong showing at the Final Public Consultation was a fantastic start to the public rally against the Kettle Island bridge. But this will be a long fight, and the energy and enthusiasm displayed at that meeting will need to be sustained and amplified as we continue our campaign.
For now, your top priority should be to formally submit your comments to the consultants. Each and every one of your comments will become part of the public record for the project, and the more comments that are submitted, the more the consultants and the project sponsors will listen.
The submission deadline is October 10th.
An equally important action on your part is to send messages to your elected representatives and the decision makers for this project. Just copy your submission to the consultants and paste it into a message, or take a look at our Letter to Decision Makers for ideas on what to say. Click here for the contact list.
We’ve also had a request from CARAD (Community Action for Reasonable Analyses and Decisions), a coalition representing 15 impacted communities, to encourage you to send a copy of your feedback and comments to Jane Brammer, CARAD chair, at janebrammer@hotmail.com. CARAD will compile and present your feedback in a media event.
Please feel free to use any content from this website when writing your comments. Your comments don’t need to be long, but it is essential that your concerns are formally logged by the project. I also encourage you to publish your feedback on stopthebridge.org as a comment to this post. Others will benefit from seeing what you’ve written, and you’ll be published for the world to see.
A few highlights that you may want to cover include:
- This study puts trucks before people
- Community interests were not represented on the weightings committee
- The weightings exercise was not transparent
- Traffic and cost factors were weighted disproportionally high, while community and people factors were weighted disproportionally low
- The recommendation does not solve the problem of trucks on King Edward
- There are no factors that directly consider the negative impact of increased traffic on residential roads
- Health and safety issues associated with the transportation of hazardous goods and diesel fuel exhaust are not adequately addressed
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.
Sept 30th, 2008 – Last Day for Transportation Master Plan Comments
Important Message from Councillor Jacques Legendre:
———
Dear Residents,
The City is currently conducting a mandatory revision of its Transportation Master Plan. The draft revision focuses mainly on Mass Transit although some proposals for new or widened road corridors are included.
One disappointing aspect is the absence of any mention of studying an Ottawa By-Pass (Ring Road). The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario has included such a study in its vision of “Future Highway Expansion” needs for the province.
As you all know, the Ring Road Concept is a key element for the removal of unwanted trucks from our communities. Tuesday, September 30th, is the last day to submit comments to staff on your vision of what this next Transportation Master Plan should look like.
It would be very important, if you can, to request to City Staff that the notion/study of a Ring Road be included in this plan. As things currently stand, the ring road is absent from the City’s future plans. It is time to incorporate this ring road concept and your help in accomplishing this would be very welcomed.
You can do so online at https://ottawa.ca/cgi-bin/form.cgi?dir=beyond_2020&form=feedback_tmp_en
or by email at plan@ottawa.ca
Sincerely,
Jacques Legendre
———
For a map of the proposed roadway transportation plan within the report, click here. Note that there is no current provision for a Ring Road in this plan, although bridge crossing options east of Kettle Island would connect well to a future ring road via the new arterial road proposed between Hunt Club and Innes.
Strong turnout at the Final Public Consultation
More than 1000 concerned citizens packed the meeting room at Lansdowne for the Final Public Consultation. It was a great display of community energy. Photos, videos, and commentary to follow…stay tuned.
We’ll be revamping the website to better accomodate the media attention that this story is sure to attract, but for now, here is a link to the Sept 25 Ottawa Citizen article: “Hundreds of angry residents tell consultants ‘no’ to proposed bridge at Kettle Island“.
Your Participation is Critical!
KETTLE ISLAND HAS BEEN SELECTED AS THE PREFERRED CROSSING ALTERNATIVE!
Make no mistake – unless we mobilize our communities and make it known in a loud voice to our politicians, the media, and the consultants that this is a flawed selection with massive detrimental impacts on thousands of people, this bridge will be built.
If we don’t stop this now, the next two years will be dedicated to refining and designing the Kettle Island corridor and crossing. The 4-year construction project could conceivably begin in 2010, and the new trucking route could be fully functional by as early as 2014.
It is absolutely critical that you do the following to prevent this from happening:
- Formally submit your comments to the consultants
- Contact your elected representatives and the decision-makers in this project to tell them how you feel about this issue
- Raise as much awareness any way that you can (elevator pitches, talking to your neighbours, community rallies, letters to the editor, blog participation, etc.)
- Convince everyone you can to do the same
We need massive community involvement, action, and support. Together, we can stop this.
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