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2007 - 01 - 26 - Column

The document announces a public meeting to discuss improving transit service in Kanata. It will be held on January 29th at Holy Trinity High School from 7-9pm with councillors Wilkinson and Feltmate and OC Transpo representatives. The meeting will receive comments on OC Transpo's suggestions to improve service by creating a transfer hub and making routes between north and south Kanata faster. Any service improvements would require budget approval. Completing the remaining portions of the transitway would help buses avoid Queensway traffic. The document also notes upcoming budget consultation meetings and encourages reporting odors from the Carp Landfill.

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Councillor Marianne Wilkinson
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34 views

2007 - 01 - 26 - Column

The document announces a public meeting to discuss improving transit service in Kanata. It will be held on January 29th at Holy Trinity High School from 7-9pm with councillors Wilkinson and Feltmate and OC Transpo representatives. The meeting will receive comments on OC Transpo's suggestions to improve service by creating a transfer hub and making routes between north and south Kanata faster. Any service improvements would require budget approval. Completing the remaining portions of the transitway would help buses avoid Queensway traffic. The document also notes upcoming budget consultation meetings and encourages reporting odors from the Carp Landfill.

Uploaded by

Councillor Marianne Wilkinson
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Transit Meeting on Service in Kanata January 29th at Holy Trinity

Marianne Wilkinson Councillor, Kanata North Transit Services in Kanata Together with Councillor Feltmate I will be hosting a Public Meeting to discuss transit routes in Kanata, on Monday, January 29th at Holy Trinity High School, 180 Katimavik Road, from 7 - 9 pm. Councillor Qadri, who will hold a meeting in Stittsville later, will also be present as routes in Kanata impact on his ward which includes Kanata West. Representatives of OC Transpo will present their suggestions and receive your comments and recommendations. The City of Ottawa has put a priority on transit services over the provision of roads. Yet within Kanata much of the service takes so long to go from one part of Kanata to another that many have given up using the bus. Those living in Kanata South who work in Kanata North must go via the Centrum, a trip that can take up to 90 minutes. Express routes, which are the best used ones, also cause a lot of concern due to overcrowding and the length of some routes. It is no wonder that many give up and return to using their car. A more efficient transit system would enable many two car households to move to a one car household. With the average cost of owning and running a car being about $10,000 that would be a huge saving to those households. Students and senior citizens who depend on the bus service would also benefit from an improvement of service. OC Transpo has done a review of the local routes and come up with some suggestions to improve the service. This involves creating a transfer hub at the Eagleson Park and Ride in addition to the Centrum. For those wanting to connect to the 96 route going into central Ottawa this would be a major improvement. It would also be much faster to travel from north to south within Kanata. Any service improvement would be dependent upon funds being provided in the 2007 budget. Some funds are already identified to provide service to new areas and there is a good possibility of additional funds to increase ridership since the new gas tax revenues from the federal and provincial government are primarily required to be used for transit. However I expect that the budget debate on funding for transit will be heated and there is no guarantee that funds will be made available. One of the problems with the express routes is that buses are caught in the Queensway traffic jam each morning and evening. The portion of the transitway between Woodroffe and Moodie Drive, which has been in the Official Plan for more than 25 years, has yet to be completed. In 2006 funding was allocated to do the piece between Pinecrest and Bayshore. At the Transit Committee meeting last week, on a 5-4 vote, staff were directed to include some long delayed projects in the capital budget, including funds to acquire the land and design the portion between Bayshore and Moodie Drive. This would enable construction of that portion to occur in 2008. The four votes against came from supporters of the north-south light rail project who spoke against funding any transit programs this year. In my view that is very short-sighted since all of the items are required within the transportation master plan and

include items such as park and rides for the growth areas in the south and additional buses required by the growth in the population of the City. Again, any work, including the portion already funded, could be cut during the budget deliberations. Carp Landfill Expansion Many of you have been contacting me about the odor from the Carp Landfill. Any time you smell it please fill in an odor report on www.nodump.ca These reports are compiled weekly and submitted to local Councillors and Ministry of the Environment. You are asked for the location where you encountered the odor - it doesn't have to be at your home. We are getting more and more reports from Kanata Lakes, the Centrum, Beaverbrook, Village Green and the Kanata North Business Park. This is quite unacceptable. The five local Councillors (Wilkinson, Qadri, Feltmate, El-Chantiry, Brooks) are working with the Mayor and staff on a response to the terms of the Environmental Assessment to ensure that all alternatives are included. We have also asked for an additional public consultation in Stittsville. If you wish to be notified of such meetings please call or preferably e-mail me and we'll put you on our notification list. Budget Consultations Mark February 15th on your calendar for an opportunity to speak to staff and local Councillors on the budget. There are two meetings that day - at the Kanata Senior's Centre in the Program Room, 2500 Campeau Drive, from 1 - 3 pm and at Holy Trinity Catholic High School in the cafetorium, 180 Katimavik Road, from 7-9 pm. The budget is being released on February 7th and will be available on line after that date. You can reach me at city hall by email at [email protected]. or call 613-5802474. I hope to be able to open a Ward office soon. In the meantime you can meet with me at City Hall or I am happy to meet you at your home or another location in Kanata.

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