Stop The Kettle Island Bridge

Classic air rally at the Canada Aviation Museum: Kettle Island bridge impacts

The Canada Aviation Museum hosted the 2009 Classic Air Rally on Sunday, August 30th. This event is a celebration of aviation history that attracts flight enthusiasts from far and wide. The Classic Air Rally represents another example of the cultural significance of the area, and of the negative impacts that a bridge at Kettle Island would have.

Maria Cook presents her comments in her latest blog posting:
Aug. 30, Maria Cook’s blog: Today’s Classic Air Rally is reminder of Kettle Island bridge impact

A few excerpts from her posting below:

———-

The location of the Aviation Museum at a historic working airport adds immeasurably to the experience.

It is possible to observe vintage planes taking off, landing and in flight.

Today is an opportunity to see additional classic planes which have come for the rally.

The collection itself is known throughout the world as one of the finest collections of aircraft to be seen anywhere.

The museum recently completed enhancements to its entrance and public areas. Close to 200,000 visitors a year come to the museum.

Should the interprovincial bridge route take over Aviation Parkway for use as a truck route to cross at Kettle Island, the Aviation Museum and RCMP Musical Ride and stables adjacent will be severely compromised.

What is now a coherent cultural landscape where aviation history and the heritage of the Canadian mounted police can be experienced in a working landscape of airfields and pastures, will be disrupted by the noise and pollution of major truck trafic.

Historic aircraft, in particular, take off and land very low.

Trucks and tall lamp-posts will conflict with flight safety to the point that the airstrips could be moved.

———-

I also came across a few photos from the event, posted here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/francoismouzard/sets/72157622064805181/show/

Share on Facebook

Letter to Rick Mercer re: Genie Awards at the Aviation Museum

In case you missed it, Ottawa will be hosting the 2009 Genie Awards at the Canada Aviation Museum.  From the NCC press release issued on January 14:

The NCC has worked since 1899 to make the Capital an expression of the Canadian identity. Thanks to the steady, persistent and focused efforts of generation after generation of planners and landscape architects, Canada’s Capital is today a model of unspoiled shorelines, scenic parkways and boulevards, preserved heritage, monuments and expansive parks. Just as importantly, the Capital has become a place for national encounters, commemorations, learning and celebrations such as the Genie Awards.

The following was submitted by a concerned citizen to Rick Mercer at info@rickmercer.com to let him know what might be in store for the 2009 Genie Awards venue down the road.  As you are probably aware, Rick never misses an opportunity to question some of the bizarre decisions made by politicians and decision makers in this great country of ours.

Who knows…he might just take an interest in a proposal to transform the unspoiled shorelines and a scenic parkway in our nation’s capital into a trucking route that would just happen to run within a few hundred meters of the “Canada Aviation Museum, one of the country’s most visually stunning landmarks.”

Feel free to send Rick an email yourself if you think this is something he should know about.
——————-
Hi Rick,

Are you coming to Ottawa for the Genie Awards on Sunday, April 4, 2009?

If so, maybe you could do yet another Ottawa rant—only this time take a dig at the NCC.

The Genies are being held at the Canada Aviation Museum, which the NCC calls “one of the country’s most visually stunning landmarks.”

In fact the NCC, in a great gesture of support, has recently given the museum a grant of $7 million to improve its visibility and accessibility and enhance its “wow” factor.

The only problem is that, at the same time, the NCC is also spending 9 million taxpayer dollars to study the idea of building a truck route on the scenic parkway right by this museum. The guardian of our beautiful capital city doesn’t see the problem or the contradiction in any of this.

Trucks aren’t beautiful. They don’t do anything for tourism. They also don’t improve visibility or accessibility. Tourists from all over the world could be sharing a roundabout with as many as 4,000 trucks a day trying to find their way to the museum.

Of course, the neighbours aren’t thrilled about this plan either because the truck route would skirt past front driveways and back yards and come within 25 metres of a hospital and 15 metres of an elementary school. We call it Ottawa’s Spadina Expressway. It goes by the name of the Kettle Island Bridge and we have been fighting the proposal for decades.

If you want to find out more, check out www.stopthebridge.org.

Oh, and by the way, the NCC is doing this to be a model for the rest of Canada. I kid you not. So this could come to a city near you.

Love your show,

——————-

Share on Facebook

Aviation Museum speaks out against the Kettle Island bridge

The Canada Aviation Musem, with its recently approved $7M expansion plan, has expressed concern about the Kettle Island bridge.

A major concern for the museum, which is located on Aviation Parkway, is the impact of a potential new bridge at Kettle Island. The choice of Kettle Island as the favoured site for a new bridge means major changes to Aviation Parkway that Mr. Quick [director general, Canada Aviation Museum] believes could harm the museum.

The whole point of the expansion is to improve the museum’s visibility and accessibility, and a new bridge could compromise both. The prospect of cars and trucks from the bridge barreling down Aviation Parkway and blocking access to the museum could set it back. One road change that would have the museum accessed by a circuitous route from Hemlock Road is a proposition Mr. Quick finds unacceptable.

Read more about the museum and the expansion plans in this article:
Dec. 22, Ottawa Citizen: Aviation museum to get $7m expansion

Share on Facebook