Open letter to decision makers
Here is a sample letter to give you ideas for your letters to elected representatives and the decision-makers in this project. Feel free to copy and paste shamelessly, but you are also encouraged to edit and change this letter to make it your own.
_____________________
RE: A New Ottawa River Bridge
Dear [elected representative / decision maker],
Most informed observers agree that a new bridge is needed across the Ottawa River, primarily to remove large truck traffic from the downtown Ottawa core, but also to facilitate automobile traffic between Ottawa and Gatineau. A recent technical study has concluded that the new bridge should be in the east end of the city because more of the demand is there and also it would be much cheaper to build because the crossing would not be as long. I and most of my neighbors agree with that assessment.
Unfortunately the technical study also recommended that of six possible east-end bridge sites the preferred site should be Kettle Island because it would “attract” the most trucks and the most Gatineau commuters. It was also claimed that the Kettle Island site would be the cheapest, but that conclusion was reached only by loading the other options with costs such as highway widening that were to occur anyway, and excluding similar costs from their Kettle Island calculations.
The recommendation was based primarily on facilitating the maximum flow of automobile and truck traffic regardless of other consequences. The study gave little or no consideration to the devastating impact of the Kettle Island bridge corridor on established residential communities, businesses, tourist attractions, hospitals, schools or recreational facilities. The cost calculations in the study do not stand up to the most minimal scrutiny. The recommended option is not integrated with future land use plans and longer term urban growth. Perhaps most importantly, the recommended site does not achieve its primary objective of removing truck traffic from downtown. It simply would move some of it and create a second heavy truck congestion point in Ottawa’s core.
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 alone without regard to the serious failings in the first phase of the study. At a minimum the consultants should be directed to re-examine their earlier work, correct the failings and omissions that have occurred, and then select at least two options for more detailed study.
It is very important that our limited infrastructure funds be used wisely and now is the time to get this project back on track. Please join with your fellow elected representatives and decision makers in this project to make sure that this happens before more time and effort is wasted.
Yours truly,
[a concerned citizen]
_____________________
For a list of the elected representatives and decision makers in this project and their contact information, click here.
Tags: Letter
Loading ...