Doucet issues warning to Toronto

As new Toronto mayor Rob Ford appears to be embarking on a road eerily similar to that Ottawa took in the immediate aftermath of our last election, former city councillor and failed mayoral candidate Clive Doucet--long an opponent of the current transit plan and proponent of the cancelled north-south transit plan--has issued a strong warning to councillors in the city.

His guest column in the Citizen talks about the years--often decades--and incredible effort that goes in to forming transit plans, and the huge cost associated with cancelling projects that are just about to start, as was the case in Ottawa, or already underway, as is the case in Toronto. It's a terrific column and I recommend you check it out in its entirety, but here's an excerpt:

The young council in Toronto needs to pay attention to Ottawa because the individual political consequences for Ottawa politicians four years on from the initial rail cancellation were equally disastrous -- almost half the council either left voluntarily or were retired by the electorate. Councils need to
succeed and you don't get success by cancelling projects that are slated to change your city for the better.

If you think this is a rather extreme conclusion, consider this: If Ottawa now had a brand-new, light rail service from Barrhaven to the University of Ottawa in operation instead of $37 million
in cancellation fines and $60 million in lost investment; if O'Brien had finished his mandate by cutting the ribbon on that line and turning the sod on the new east/west line it would have connected to -- would he have been defeated?

[...]

The Ottawa experience proves it's not only expensive to cancel approved transit projects, the lost opportunities are even more costly. While Ottawa waits for the new transit projects to happen, it is becoming congestion city. The same will happen in Toronto.

All in all, a very interesting take from someone who, whatever you think about his politics, has a lot of experience a plenty of ideas on public transit and cities in the 21st century.

2010 Election: Doucet on high-speed rail

Over the course of the 2010 Mayoral Election campaign, Public Transit in Ottawa will be sitting down with as many mayoral candidates as are available, discussing their platforms and thoughts on transit in this city, and what they hope to achieve during their mandate, if elected mayor.

High-speed rail is something that's come up periodically on this website, but it's been fairly quiet in the mayoral campaign this year. Perhaps that's because implementing it would probably have to be pushed by federal and provincial governments primarily, but there's no doubt that a supportive mayor would go a long way in getting something done--and mayoral candidate Clive Doucet is certainly supportive of putting Ottawa on a high-speed rail corridor.

I will work with Mayor [Richard] Lalonde, the mayor of Quebec City, and the mayors of Montreal, Kingston, and Toronto to make high-speed rail between our cities a reality. I won’t run away from that obligation the way the present mayor did.

In his platform notes, Doucet noted that he wanted to "put Ottawa 'on the map' for business people and travelers", and that he feels high-speed rail would offer a more environmentally-friendly way to do so.

The importance of fair comparisons and accurate numbers

There are all sorts of reasons for someone to take issue with Ottawa's current transit plan. You can pose questions about the cost. You can question the need for a tunnel at all. You can ponder the cost-benefit ratio of light-rail transit compared to bus rapid transit. All of these, in fact, have been questioned in the current election. But in doing so, you have to be fair in your comparisons and accurate in looking at the numbers behind the plan before reaching your conclusions. Otherwise, you're deceiving yourself, and if you're running for mayor, you're deceiving the people you hope will vote for you.

The most recent example of inaccurate comparisons has come in the aftermath of the cancellation of NJ Transit's Trans Hudson Mass Transit Tunnel (also known as the ARC tunnel) project. As costs for the tunnel climbed at untenable rates, New Jersey governor Chris Christie decided (very controversially) that "[t]he only prudent move is to end this project" to at least contain the costs. And, of course, this made Ottawans nervous about our transit tunnel--for good reason, because tunnel projects to have a habit of exceeding their estimates. By a lot. And it's come up on the election trail, too, as Clive Doucet used the ARC tunnel example to support his argument for surface-rail through the city. From CTV Ottawa:

While the numbers in Ottawa are smaller, one mayoral candidate predicts a similar story. Clive Doucet is for light rail but against the downtown tunnel.

"Typically tunnels run, on average, 60 per cent over," says Doucet. "So, say it's budgeted $2.1 billion … you're looking at $3 billion."

Fair enough, cautioning about costs for transit plans is prudent for someone running for public office. I'm not sure where the 60 per cent cost-overrun figure comes from, but it's entirely conceivable that Ottawa's tunnel could generate a number in that range, especially considering the issues that have arisen with the University of Ottawa's excavation work for a new building on campus.

But it's important to be clear about such cautions. Doucet is projecting a 60 per cent overrun for the CAD2.1B price tag, but that's not the cost associated with a tunnel; that's the whole transit plan, including surface rail for the vast majority of the span. The actual tunnel portion is currently estimated at CAD735M, so even a 60 per cent cost overrun would bring that cost up to CAD1.176B, pushing the total project up to CAD2.541B overall. Which is definitely more than the city and citizens would prefer to pay, but certainly isn't enough to push the city into bankruptcy.

And comparing Ottawa's tunnel with the ARC tunnel project is a precarious comparison, at best. Ottawa's tunnel is to be a 3.2 km distance, under downtown Ottawa. The Trans Hudson project was a 5.6 km tunnel under the Hudson River. The New York Times called the ARC tunnel "the largest transit project in the nation"; Ottawa's project is a rather humble starting point, in comparison. The class-D (+/- 25 per cent) cost estimate of Ottawa's tunnel is CAD735M, and the total project is $2.1B; the total initial cost estimate for the ARC tunnel was USD8.7B, which had climbed and was expected to end up between USD11-14B when all was said and done. Fairly big difference in scope between the projects.

For the last few weeks, Andy Haydon has been making claims about the inferiority of LRT compared to BRT, and cautioning that proceeding with the current plan could bankrupt Ottawa. Almost post-for-post, David Reevely has blasted holes through Haydon's claims, offering counter-points to Haydon's "cherry-picked" facts and expanding the number of comparison cities to offer a more representative sample.

You expect mayoral candidates to enter a race running through plans with a very fine-toothed comb, simply as due diligence. And it's entirely possible that both Doucet and Haydon have sound arguments to support their alternative transit plans. But they're both hurting their arguments by presenting weak supporting "facts" or estimates for them.

2010 Election: Doucet on OC Transpo

Over the course of the 2010 Mayoral Election campaign, Public Transit in Ottawa will be sitting down with as many mayoral candidates as are available, discussing their platforms and thoughts on transit in this city, and what they hope to achieve during their mandate, if elected mayor.

Most mayoral candidates are looking at some way to re-organize OC Transpo into what they think would be a more efficient structure, and Clive Doucet is no exception. His idea, though, is different from any others: Break it up into branches, and have them compete with one another for the city's transit funding.

I want to divide OC Transpo into three divisions: A community division, a commuter bus division, and a light-rail division. Right now, the Transitway is running everything, and if you’re on the Transitway you get fabulous service, and if you’re in a community that’s not [then your service isn't as good.] We have no light-rail experts, really, whatsoever. We’ve got to break that monolith up into three divisions, and I want to see them competing to give us great service, not telling us how we all have to fit into the same shoe.

In Doucet's opinion, the change would improve the service across every level of OC Transpo. And rather than having a review to examine the re-organization, Doucet thinks it should happen right away, and each level will be responsible "to come forward to council and explain to me how they’re delivering better service each year".

Our Transitway is already recognized as one of the best in the country, and is an example to other cities around the world. But our local system leaves a lot to be desired. We need to improve our community level service, and we need to do it now—not in 20 years. Right now, we have two levels of service in the city, one for those who live near the Transitway, and one for everyone else. I want to change that by making community service a priority, and providing small buses for community service. I’ve heard from many people they don’t like these 60-, 90-foot buses rattling around small streets; we’re going to change that.

2010 Election: Doucet on ParaTranspo

Over the course of the 2010 Mayoral Election campaign, Public Transit in Ottawa will be sitting down with as many mayoral candidates as are available, discussing their platforms and thoughts on transit in this city, and what they hope to achieve during their mandate, if elected mayor.

Many users of ParaTranspo would suggest there are a lot of areas that it can improve, and Clive Doucet sees that there are problems with it, too. But instead of further investments into trying to make ParaTranspo more efficient, Doucet thinks that the increasing accessibility of OC Transpo's regular fleet--including wheelchair-accessible buses, priority seating, audio and visual stop-calling, and other measures--will allow ParaTranspo to narrow its focus.

Well, ParaTranspo is its own world. The problem with Para, I guess, is money. I think we’re slowly moving away from that as we get our system to be more accessible to the handicapped. Hopefully Para won’t be so necessary as we roll out; our buses will soon be 100% disable-friendly, and the same thing with our rail system. I’m hoping that Para will actually diminish in size, as we grow our capacity in other ways.

Recap of the mayoral debate on the environment

The first ever Ottawa mayoral debate on the environment took place at Saint Paul University on Sunday night, and there was no shortage of... excitement for those in attendance.

Fireworks started right off the bat, when candidate Jane Scharf questioned the fairness of the questions participants were to be asked, and withdrew from the debate. This opened up a spot for candidate Andy Haydon (who hadn't responded in time to be an official member of the debate), but he declined the opportunity--but still joined into the debate, informally and periodically. Candidate Joseph Furtenbacher was also in attendance, but because he hadn't responded in time to become an official candidate (he said he wasn't invited, possibly because he joined the race late) [Ed. note: Mr. Furtenbacher contacted be to explain that he wasn't invited to the debate because invitations were sent out prior to his registration as an official mayoral candidate], he wasn't invited to participate, and simply sat in the seat vacated by Scharf--without participating.

And all that excitement was before the debate had even officially started.

Over the course of the debate, a large number of environmental issues came up, from protecting aquifers and sensitive ecological areas to water management to 'smart growth' and urban planning. Although no question was directly asked about public transit, it did come up periodically, and there was a significant discussion about cycling in Ottawa.

As for public transit, candidates spoke up about their plans. Incumbent Larry O'Brien spoke about his support for the current plan, as did Jim Watson; Mike Maguire and Clive Doucet each briefly mentioned their alternative transit plans; Andy Haydon very briefly mentioned his support for expanding Ottawa's BRT system, and called Ottawa's transit system Canada's best (citing ridership per capita to support his claim); and Robin Lawrance one again expressed his concerns for public safety with regard to the plan to build a tunnel. The only other speaker given an opportunity were César Bello--who didn't discuss transit plans, but did say he'd ensure no more transit strikes--and Charlie Taylor, who didn't speak much to public transit in general (but has in the past expressed grudging support for the city's current transit plan).

As I write this post, hours after the debate, I'm still not sure what to think about what I just witnessed. There were some good points made, but they were rare gems hidden in the personal attacks and ideological statements and slogans that dominated the debate. And, as was pointed out by Taylor, the whole thing was dominated with 'greenwashing', and many of the candidates were definitely speaking to the audience in front of them.

Still, the debate can be seen as nothing but a positive thing for this city. There were a couple hundred people in attendance (it was standing-room only by the time it started), and most of the audience were very interested in what was said. In terms of getting the environment on the radar for the mayoral race, as well, the event was a huge success.

Good news for those of you who missed the debate, but want to watch it: It will be on Rogers 22 in Ottawa this Tuesday, Sept. 28, at 8:30 p.m. Tune in, if you can; you won't be sorry.

2010 Election: Doucet on cycling

Over the course of the 2010 Mayoral Election campaign, Public Transit in Ottawa will be sitting down with as many mayoral candidates as are available, discussing their platforms and thoughts on transit in this city, and what they hope to achieve during their mandate, if elected mayor.

As a part of his transportation plan, mayoral candidate Clive Doucet is calling for pretty heavy investments into promoting cycling as an actual alternative transportation method for residents of the City of Ottawa. His platform includes filling "gaps" in Ottawa's current cycling infrastructure and offering facilities at transit nodes with the stated goal of increasing the modal share devoted to cycling in Ottawa from two to five per cent.

We want to make Ottawa the best cycling city in Canada; better than Montreal, better than Vancouver. Can we do it? Of course we can. We are already the best recreational bicycling city in Canada, and our challenge is to become the best in Canada for cyclists who need to get to work, to shop, to get to daycares. It is the daily, weekday travel by cyclists that must be improved.

During his press conference, Doucet invited sustainable transportation consultant Joel Mulligan to speak on behalf of cycle-heavy cities. Whether or not what Mulligan talked about was directly part of Doucet's plans, he did describe the best way to get people in Ottawa interested in cycling, and to build it into civic culture: Pilot projects.

The best way to introduce the people of Ottawa to a world-class cycling infrastructure and cycling-oriented lifestyles like we see in many of these world-class cities is to show the people of Ottawa examples. To use modest, small-scale pilot projects that are really well done, to capitalize on expertise from leading cities is one of the best ways of doing it. This way, people can see examples, try them out, and they can discuss them. [...] Such a concept is relative to all councillors in all wards, and a bicycle pilot project initiative in each ward, led by the mayor, and working with each councillor and with citizens in each ward, would be a positive way of sharing these ideas with all the citizens in the City of Ottawa.

2010 Election: Doucet's transit alternative

Over the course of the 2010 Mayoral Election campaign, Public Transit in Ottawa will be sitting down with as many mayoral candidates as are available, discussing their platforms and thoughts on transit in this city, and what they hope to achieve during their mandate, if elected mayor.

My discussion with mayoral candidate Clive Doucet was a little different than that with other candidates I've interviewed so far: Rather than a one-on-one interview, Doucet held a press conference on transit issues on September 8, which I attended (I was able to ask him a few questions one-to-one, afterwards). The presser dealt with a few transit issues, but the biggest Doucet wanted to discuss was his alternative transit plan, which basically boils down to this: Surface light-rail along Carling in the west, Laurier in the centre, extending the O-Train to the airport and Riverside South in the south, and somewhere to Orleans--all alongside the existing bus-rapid transit system.

At the heart of the election, the defining decision for the citizens of Ottawa will be how we decide to invest in light-rail. Ottawa faces a critical east-west traffic problem, especially on our Queensway, the 417. Building a downtown tunnel will not solve this. We can spend $3B for a 3.4km tunnel in our downtown and it will never do anything to fix our east-west traffic jams. It won’t do it because the tunnel will add no new capacity for east-west commuters. All the tunnel [will do] is replacing an existing service on the surface with enormous bus-rail transfer stations at each end of the tunnel. There is a concern that this tunnel will even make it longer across the downtown.

There’s only one way to increase capacity on our east-west corridor and reduce pressure on the 417: A parallel rail service to the busway and the 417. With LRT running on Carling Avenue in the west and Orleans in the East, people will have a real travel choice between buses, trains, and cars. This is what we must do: LRT in four years from Kanata to Orleans, from Riverside South to Centretown, and the airport. Can it be done? Of course it can.

Doucet said that because the city owns rights-of-way on Carling Avenue, Laurier Avenue, and the other routes he's planning to implement surface rail, the cost would be about "around $2B". The western portion of his plan is very similar to that he presented in November 2008, with his Light Rail Now! alternative promoting rail on Carling. After the presser, Doucet dismissed concerns about the numerous intersections an at-grade train would have to pass on Carling, saying that Morrison Renfrew--a transportation consultant he's cited often in the past--found that there would only need to be two grade-separated crossings along the line (the rest would be, presumably, timed traffic standards).

A few concerns with Doucet's plan have been raised since its launch, most notably by West Side Action's Eric Darwin. It's unclear, for instance, how a light-rail spur will connect from the O-Train station at Bayview to the Laurier rail line without impinging on the BRT service that is to remain in complement to it.

Still, Doucet's main argument is a valid one: If the expense of a tunnel is avoided, the city will have more money to spend extending service further out. It boils down to whether or not you feel surface rail is sufficient. Doucet, obviously, feels it is, and he's given himself an ambitious timeline to implement his plan:

As mayor, I will chair the transit committee, and we will have the contracts in place within six months, and construction underway shortly thereafter.

Doucet releases comprehensive alternative transit plan

On Tuesday morning, mayoral candidate Clive Doucet held a press conference to announce his plans for transit and transportation if elected mayor of the City of Ottawa. And his plan is pretty much completely different from the current plan. [Read the press release here.]

Doucet's plan calls for a deference of the tunnel "until [its cost] can be justified", and instead proposes running at-grade light-rail along Laurier Avenue downtown as a parallel line to the existing bus-rapid transit on Albert and Slater. He also proposes a western leg along Carling Avenue (a resuscitated version of his co-sponsored Light Rail Now! transit alternative from November 2008) into Kanata, extending the O-Train south towards the airport, and heading east towards Blair Road and beyond. Doucet says that he would begin the groundwork for the projects immediately, and that he could have them finished within a single four-year mandate, and for a total cost of "around $2B".

After finishing his presentation, Doucet turned the floor over to a couple other transit-oriented speakers. Local "suburban commuter" Liam Jerusalem described his purchase of a home in Riverside South with the expectation of light-rail (under the cancelled North-South transit line) running through that suburb, and his disappointment that followed the cancellation of that plan. And his other guest speaker was Sustainable Transportation Consultant Joel Mulligan, who described the virtues of a cycle-oriented society and offered his support for Doucet's promises to place more emphasis on cycling.

Doucet also discussed his plans to "optimize bus service" by organizing OC Transpo into three distinct service modes that compete with one another for funding: Community service, commuter service, and light-rail service. He also expressed a desire to approach VIA Rail in an effort to establish GO-Train-style commuter transit for outlying communities including Smiths Falls, Richmond, Perth, and Casselman.

Finally, he pledged his support for high-speed rail in the region, committing his support to establishing a Quebec City-Toronto corridor with Ottawa along it.

I will be offering more specific information on Doucet's presentation in the coming weeks, as a part of Public Transit in Ottawa's 2010 election hub.

Cancelling tunnel would mean cancelling project: Cullen

An artist's rendition of LRT trains emerging from an overpass. © City of Ottawa

The Ontario government accepted the environmental assessment for Ottawa's new light-rail transit plan--downtown tunnel included--so cancelling the tunnel, according to current transit committee chair Alex Cullen, would bring transit planners back to the square one.

From the Ottawa Citizen:

"Bay Councillor Alex Cullen, who is running for mayor, on Wednesday took a shot at anyone questioning the need for a tunnel, saying a significant change to the project would mean redoing the environmental assessment, and more public
consultation and background studies — something that took council four years to complete for its current project.

[...]

"Deputy city manager Nancy Schepers, who’s in charge of transit, said cutting the tunnel would mean the city would have “to go back to the drawing board” on its transit plan. Looking at another option, such as surface light-rail, would require figuring out how the system would work with different traffic volumes, Schepers said."

A few of Ottawa's mayoral candidates have talked about cancelling or changing the transit plan. Jim Watson is the only one who seemed interested in trying to cut the tunnel out of the plan, and he hasn't said much about it recently. Mike Maguire and Clive Doucet want completely different plans, so it makes sense that cancelling the tunnel would bring Ottawa back to square one. Charlie Taylor seems resigned to moving forward with the current plan, although he's said he'd have chosen something else if it wouldn't cost the city so much time. Stan Pioro seems interested in cancelling public transit in any measure, aside from buses to Richmond. Both Larry O'Brien and Alex Cullen want to move forward with the plan as it is today.

But for some reason, Metro Ottawa's story on the issue--and Cullen's quote about the tunnel being a 'dead issue'--is titled "Feasibility of tunnel an issue". Go figure.

Calls for Ottawa to build fewer roads, more transit

A few sources have recently spoken out about the City of Ottawa's plans to expand and add to roadways in the city, and instead re-direct that money to public transit and cycling infrastructure. The first is a report written by University of Ottawa political studies professor Matthew Paterson and released by Ecology Ottawa (which you can download in .PDF format here), proposed an outright moratorium on new road projects over the next 10 years, which would result in $1.5B cut from the budget (and, one would assume, significantly increase congestion on roadways in the city). From CBC.ca:

"The report, prepared by the non-profit environmental group Ecology Ottawa, argues the high costs of roads needed to service urban sprawl are directly related to spiraling taxes and increased greenhouse emissions."

Mayoral candidates have also spoke out about the issue, coming on to either side of the debate. In the Ottawa Citizen, Clive Doucet suggested that the City of Ottawa is in need of a "road diet", and Alex Cullen has also said that expanded roadways are not the only, or even optimal, way to reduce congestion in the city's transportation system. Incumbent Larry O'Brien, however, noted that Ottawa's size makes new roadways necessary in order to allow people, especially in suburban and rural areas, to move about the city. Although not quoted in the Citizen's article, mayoral candidate César Bello has outlined "a halt to the steady growth of the city's road network" as part of his platform.

Halting new road construction would help the city encourage public transit use, and would be a stiff-armed way of forcing people to reconsider single-rider car commuter. But it's a difficult line to walk, given the fact that Ottawa's transit system already seems to be bursting at the seams. It will be interesting to see the shape that this discussion takes through the election campaign.

Chernushenko running in Capital Ward

With Clive Doucet having announced his retirement from municipal politics (correction: from Capital Ward; Doucet is running for mayor), Ottawa's Capital Ward is going to have a new representative for the first time since 1997. Bob Brocklebank, Mano Hadavand, Ron Le Blanc, and Isabel Metcalfe have all submitted their candidacy papers, and today news has broken that David Chernushenko will be running in the ward, as well.

While Brocklebank doesn't seem to have laid out a platform beyond his opposition of Lansdowne Live, Hadavand hasn't revealed any plans, Le Blanc gave his opposition to the downtown tunnel a passing mention in his plan, and Metcalfe just has information about her public affairs counsel, Chernushenko has talked about transit in Ottawa on this very blog.

Back in 2008 when Ottawa was still deciding which plan to move forward with, Chernushenko suggested that the tunnel was "a waste of money":

"I think the subway alternative is a complete and utter waste of money. I think it’s the wrong approach, unless Ottawa is going to have a subway system—and I don’t believe we’re big enough to merit a subway system at the moment," he said.

Chernushenko added that although business support for the tunnel is currently high, the affected streets above ground are in for an overhaul that could affect revenue.

"It’s going to be one hell of a massive dig. It’s going to be a couple of years of major, major disruption. And I don’t think they thought through that," he said. "[Streets] are as blocked off above as they would be if it were entirely surface-length [rail] that was going in."

Of course, those comments were made two years ago, and before the elected council voted to support the plan. We'll surely find out how he feels about the plan as it stands today over the course of the election campaign.

U-Pass back on the table

Capital Ward Councillor Clive Doucet has re-introduced the possibility of a universal post-secondary student 'U-Pass' to be entered into budget discussions for the year. As reported in Metro, a previous attempt at a $125-per-semester U-Pass split council's vote, but the current motion (which would need to pass a referendum at the schools) is for a $145 charge per student per semester.

Opinions differ on what the 'bottom line' of implementing the U-Pass will be: OC Transpo management estimated it would add $1.5M in costs, while Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee Vice-Chair Shawn Ménard said it would actually increase revenue for the transit agency.

University of Ottawa President Allan Rock has been lobbying council to implement the U-Pass, which several other Canadian cities already have. As quoted on CBC.ca:

“Today’s student is likely to have a co-op term or a job or a community placement which forms part of their studies," he said. "Very few of these activities take place on the campus. They quite often involve working in businesses and community organizations that are not available just a walk away.”

[...]

“This is not about conferring a special advantage on students at the University of Ottawa," he said. "This is about knitting the community together from one end to the other of the city so that students can serve their community as part of their studies and as volunteers."

Council is still in budget deliberations.

City approves $2.1B transit plan

Ottawa City Council voted strongly in favour of the $2.1B light-rail transit plan, including light-rail rapid transit from Tunney's Pasture station through a downtown tunnel and onto Blair Station, by a count of 19 in favour and four against. The plan will now move forward with environmental assessments before construction ultimately begins.

The overwhelming tone of the meeting was strong support. Somerset Councillor Diane Holmes was anxious for the street-level rejuvenation it could offer particularly to Albert and Slater streets, currently used as bus-rapid transit corridors. Bay Ward Councillor and mayoral candidate Alex Cullen offered his thanks to the councillors, committee members, and city staffers who'd put time into the project before stating his excitement at having given yet another show of support for the project. The final member of council to speak on the matter was Mayor Larry O'Brien, who offered his thanks to councillors and staff for moving forward with the plan, and especially highlighted the 2006 Report from the Mayor's Task Force on Transit and having achieved one of its major recommendations.

Although only four councillors were against the plan, they voiced strong opposition to it. Capital Ward Councillor Clive Doucet was vehemently opposed, declaring his long-standing criticism against a plan which, in his opinion, "is the wrong project, in the wrong place, for the wrong cost." Knoxdale-Merivale Councillor Gord Hunter was concerned that, by his estimation, all this plan guaranteed suburban commuters is a transfer which they don't have to deal with currently.

The City, which has already received a pledge of $600M from the Province of Ontario, will now officially request funding from the Federal Government. Should the Federal Government match the provincial funding amount, the city will be left with the remaining $900M remaining for the total $2.1B price tag on the project. It is unclear whether or not the City will work on funding more than the anticipated one-third of the project, or whether they will try and tweak the specifics of it to bring the total cost closer to $1.8B.

In the news: $36.7M to get nothing, and more Ottawa transit headlines

Quite a few transit-related news items this week, beginning with one of the most controversial transit-planning related issues of the day: Ottawa's cancelled north-south transit line, and the $36.7M settlement it may require stemming from lawsuits around its cancellation.

The Ottawa Citizen quoted Mayor Larry O'Brien about the lawsuit, which he says is a necessary cost for the City to "move away from the old, tragically flawed LRT plan and move on to something the citizens of Ottawa would really embrace". Recently some politicians, including Ottawa Centre MPP Yasir Naqvi in an interview with Public Transit in Ottawa as well as Capital Ward councillor Clive Doucet, have questioned whether the cancellation of the north-south line, which would be finishing at around this time, was the right decision. The project was to cost an estimated $600M (EDIT: and the actual contract for which was $778M), two-thirds of which was already pledged by federal and provincial governments, and $54M has already been spent on preparing for the transit plan--money which will now be written off by the City, the Citizen says.

-----

With reports that only 80 per cent of transit stops are being called out by OC Transpo operators, and the Canadian Transportation Agency demanding that number be 100 per cent, the City is still looking into an automated system to ensure compliance with the regulatory body's order. Council had previously approved a $6.7M expenditure on the technology, but 580 CFRA is now reporting that the system will cost the City almost twice as much; $12M to install on the entire OC Transpo fleet.

The $12M bid, from Clever Devices, would also include "bus time arrival information and vehicular system condition monitoring", and would be presented visually as well as aurally in English in French.

According to CBC.ca, the city might take a step further with the retrofit, bumping up the cost to $17M but including further increases in bus-tracking and efficiency, as well as a move to ease the installation of a wireless SmartCard system.

-----

OC Transpo is making moves to help prevent 'free rides' on buses, including a Communication Plan to inform people of the fees that come with detected non-paying riders, according to 580 CFRA. The transit utility may also implement measures including no back-door boarding, but they're saying the real solution will be implementing a SmartCard system through the entire fleet.

-----

Finally, the City is looking into a number of measures to lower the 'carbon footprint' of the public transit system, accoring to an official press release. The measures include looking into the following actions:

• Examining the cost of bio-diesel as an alternative fuel
• Providing annual greenhouse gas emission reports for buses and trains
• Completing the implementation plan for 177 diesel-electric hybrid buses, which will be used on low-speed transit routes with frequent stops
• Converting the fleet to more environmentally friendly No.2 diesel fuel
• Preparing to use urea as an exhaust after-treatment agent in buses with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2010 certified engines
• Completing a study on tire pressure monitoring and tracking
• Finalizing the testing and evaluation of its three double-decker buses

Western light-rail study to include Carling

First, Carling Avenue wasn't an option for Ottawa's western light-rail corridor. Then Councillors Clive Doucet and Christine Leadman suggested it proceed as the option for that corridor. Then that idea was kiboshed by council. Then it was suggested that Carling may be a secondary corridor. Now, according to the Ottawa Citizen, the city staff's study into that western leg of the rail line will include Carling, as well as the Ottawa River Parkway and Byron Avenue--despite the fact that, almost a full year ago, Councillor Alex Cullen was already saying it was "too late" to make such a change.

From the Citizen:

City transit planning officials had originally planned to look only at the Ottawa River Parkway and a nearby former tramway corridor running along Byron Avenue as possible western rapid-transit link to the planned light rail system from Bayview to Baseline Station.

Carling Avenue was going to be looked at separately as a residential light-rail route.

However, after concern was raised on council and in the public over running trains along the parkway (concerns include the effect on nearby residents and whether the federal government will permit trains on the land it owns), the area to be studied was expanded to determine whether the Carling route could serve.

Don't let anyone tell you that your e-mail to and discussions with your councillor were for nothing.

The debate about whether to choose Carling over the Parkway has been one of the most heated aspects of the current transit plan discussions, second perhaps to Ottawa's downtown tunnel. Several months ago, we published an article regarding the merits of running light-rail along Carling Avenue, but the Ottawa River Parkway has merits of its own--most notably the cost. Should the city obtain permission from the National Capital Commission to run rail along the Parkway (far from a sure thing, at this point), that line would cost an estimated one-third of what rail along Carling Avenue would cost (EDIT: Referring to the initial construction costs, that is, not the associated operating costs of any finished rail line).

Which is your preferred option, Carling Avenue or the Ottawa River Parkway? Why?

Doucet and community leaders on a walkable city

I host a radio show on CHUO 89.1 FM called Around the Block, and today we welcomed councillor Clive Doucet into the studio. We talked about how to make Ottawa more friendly to walkers and cyclists and, as a case study, discussed the feasibility of a second footbridge across the Rideau Canal that would connect Fifth Avenue in the Glebe and Clegg Street in Ottawa East.

Below is the interview in its entirety.

We also spoke with Glebe Community Association president Bob Brocklebank and Ottawa East Community Association president Nick Masciantonio about the bridge and what it can do for both nearby residents and commuters from the suburbs.

Leaked memos on Siemens lawsuit reveal council confusion

Ottawa Citizen reporter Ken Gray published a number of leaked memos surrounding the cancelled North-South transit line and subsequent lawsuit from Siemens, mostly involving Capital Ward Councillor Clive Doucet.

Councillors Debate Merits of Siemens Lawsuit: Leaked Memos

Councillors Demand Information On Siemens Lawsuit: Leaked Memos

The memos reveal a significant degree of secrecy surrounding the lawsuit, and a fair degree of unwillingness to discuss any possible options Council could pursue, even in-camera.

A certain question posed by Councillor Doucet intrigues me, as well, and I'm sure most citizens would be interested in hearing any details in response. The e-mail, sent to City Solicitor Rick O'Connor, came back with a response stating that any discussion of these possibilities was already approached--which Doucet disagreed with.

It's clear the city is going to have to pay a settlement to Siemens in one of three ways: 1) the court will impose one; 2) there will be an out of court settlement; 3) the settlement will be made via a partial restoration of the old project with Siemens getting this contract as part of the settlement.

My question regarding these three options is "Have we approached Siemens or have they approached us about settling via a partial restoration of the project?" If the answer is in the affirmative, can we have some details on what exactly that third option might look like?

The Advocates: Leadership at City Council

On this inaugural edition of The Advocates, we are joined by the Ottawa Citizen's David Reevely and local transit activist Kalus Beltzner. Our question to them:

As transit service resumes, who on city council is the leading voice on public transit issues? Is there a leader?

Klaus Beltzer:

A definition of "leadership" comes from Alan Keith of Genentech, who said: "Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen." (SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadership)

Based on that definition - the answer to your question is a resounding "NO ONE NOW", but there may be one who could in time.....

Let's look at the candidates:

1. Larry O'Brien - Mayor

Larry has consistently demonstrates a keen ability to over-promise and under-deliver, be divisive rather than bringing people together, spinning truth into fiction and being inclusive only when it comes to antagonizing most everyone, whether it be Council, Staff, the Province, the Feds, or the very people who voted him into office.

Larry claims to have "hit the reset" button on transit and has what exactly to show for it?

• Lawsuits by those who had a signed contract with the City to build the NS LRT
• A Transit Master Plan that was so well managed through the process that no comma changed despite hundreds of thousands of hours of input and advice from the public and transit advocates and experts; and, that resulted in a plan that provides no evidence of generating increased ridership, improved service reliability and ridership experience, reduced trip times, more transit destinations or improved operating efficiencies.
  
• A "shovel-ready" list of transit projects submitted to the federal infrastructure program that amounts to an embarrassing $200 million when compared to Brampton's$1.7 billion list, Calgary's $2.0 billion list, Edmonton's $2.2 billion list, and Toronto's $2.5 billion list of transit projects.
• A "we will wait them out" strategy to the City's disastrous transit strike that cost residents and business over $500 million and for what gain? Larry's leadership on that file was characterized by spinning truth into fiction, threatening the union and his own staff and repeatedly asking the federal government to get him out of his self-created mess.

2. Alex Cullen - Chair of Council's Transit Committee

Alex's first words to me after the last election were: " We will not see LRT for another 20- 30 years in Ottawa because we have no Transit leadership". And when I said that I thought (naively) he was suppose to provide that leadership, he replied " There is no political will to do anything on that file for the next 30 years because of the failed NS LRT project."

And, true to his word, he and Nancy Schepers have worked hard since day 1 to impose delays through an application of a tedious and torturous planning process that ensures Alex's preferred outcome of nothing happening for 20-30 years. Validation of this comes in the form of "controversy" over the western leg (parkway, Byron, Carling), the Hospital bypass corridor to allow continued bus operation while the eastern transitway is converted, the $185 million "transfer" station at Baseline, the $2 billion in new bus purchases in advance of LRT and validation on the expected start date via "official" statements for an operational Step 1 Phase 1 LRT line between Blair and Tunney's.

3. Clive Doucet - Member, Transit Committee

Clive has worked hard to move his vision for LRT forward, but has met stiff and hostile opposition from Staff and Council. With a very public recent exception, Clive mostly stands alone.

Clive was recently joined by Christine to work together and present their alternate transit master plan to the public for which they were soundly criticized by Staff and their valiant and professional efforts totally ignored by fellow Councillors.

4. Christine Leadman - Member, Transit Committee

Christine shows promise and is capable of bringing a "public good" vision to the transit file. She is handicapped by being a novice when it comes to leadership skills needed for the political game playing that goes on at Council.

There are no other candidates to consider; all other Councillors on the Transit Committee are primarily there to uphold their ward interests when it comes to transit (and transportation).

I wish I saw anything to make me more optimistic.

David Reevely:

I don't think there is -- certainly I don't think there's anybody on council who public transit users see as speaking for them anymore. The whole group was willing to stand by while the system was shut down for nearly two months, over a relatively small amount of money. Along the way, I think a lot of observers were left with the idea that councillors didn't even understand why OC Transpo's work-scheduling system works the way it does, meaning that they were willing to hurt riders very badly without even knowing what they were fighting over.

Only Clive Doucet broke with the party line in public. They had knock-down fights behind closed doors, of course but when the doors opened again, even Doucet was cowed. He did salvage something for himself, though. If you're a transit person, Doucet's always been a go-to guy for you, but now he's even more evidently the councillor who's willing to get in some trouble for the cause.

Unfortunately, breaking with council's solidarity at a tense time probably WON'T help him get things done at the level that matters most.

Mayor O'Brien, I think, lost quite a bit of credibility. I don't think most transit users and advocates saw in him a natural ally when he was first elected, particularly when one of his first acts was killing Bob Chiarelli's light-rail plan. Then a lot of people began to see him differently after he oversaw the creation of a bigger, longer-term plan -- without rehashing the debate over whether the current version does everything it could or ought to, there's no denying it's much more ambitious than the previous one. But then he took the lead on the file during the strike, being council's leader and only permitted spokesman, and that means he has to wear the results: a long and painful strike that didn't even lead to his side's getting what it wanted.

Alex Cullen suffers, too. He's generally been seen as a transit guy, but during the strike he was in the awkward position of chairing council's transit committee, meaning he was the alternative spokesman for the management side and shares some of the blame for how it all turned out. I suspect what he was hoping for was to gain some credibility for fiscal rectitude -- that's something Alex Munter had among those who paid attention, while still definitely being on council's left wing -- but because of the way it all turned out, I don't think that's how his role will be remembered.

Readers: What do you think? Who is leading council on transit issues?

The U-Pass: One more shot at council

The Student Federation of the University of Ottawa is planning something to promote its latest effort to secure a Universal Bus Pass for its students.

Check back here for details ...

UPDATE: For a primer on recent U-Pass news, check out this story in the Ottawa Citizen. The coverage is quite positive for the University of Ottawa, beginning with the headline ("U-Pass proposal gains speed").

The University of Ottawa — the city’s showpiece community for public transit — has seen a decline in transit use over the last six years, says the university co-ordinator in charge of transportation.

That coordinator is, of course, U of O transportation demand management program coordinator Danny Albert.

Both Albert and SFUO transit advocate Ted Horton - who was also recently elected to the student-union executive - were quoted and paraphrased at length in the story, which also consulted a couple of transit-friendly councillors in Alex Cullen and Clive Doucet.

The Citizen piece gives the impression that the U-Pass apparently has more momentum than in past months. But none of the plan's detractors are quoted, so it's still unclear how easy it will be for the U-Pass to be approved at the student-approved price of $125.