Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Light Rail Now! alternative soundly quashed

Councillors Clive Doucet and Christine Leadman presented their Light Rail Now! amendment to the joint meeting of the Transit and Transportation Committees Wednesday afternoon, and it was given a resounding no as only Doucet and Leadman were in favour of the idea.

Minutes for the joint meeting are unavailable at the moment, but I will offer an update on the discussion when they are available.

To editorialize on the decision for the moment, I have one major point to make: If the Light Rail Now! option was going to provide everything it said (rail to every end of the City and Gatineau) for the cost it outlined ($3.541B) in the timeline presented (within 10 years), then it would have been significantly more proactive and positive for the city than the staff-recommended plan. Although that is certainly a big 'if', I think it would likely have benefitted from more deliberation and study from council.

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