2010 Election: Lawrance on OC Transpo and 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.

Mayoral candidate Robin Lawrence isn't happy with OC Transpo and ParaTranspo. In our interview, he discussed not only his concerns with the way some staff are treated, but he also cited concerns he has with the way certain staff treat riders and users of the system.

I’m tired of seeing OC Transpo workers and others getting dumped upon. And ParaTranspo, it’s the same thing.

Mr. Lawrance doesn't have a plan or platform available to improve the workplace for employees or the service for users, but he has routinely pledged to do his "best for all the citizens in the City of Ottawa". And while he's not optimistic about his chances in the election, he is hopeful that his campaign will help increase awareness of issues, both in the public and among city politicians.

I might lose, but I’ll tell you what: Before I lose, I’m going to open people’s ears up in this city. And I’m going to wake that city council up. Enough is enough.

2010 Election: Lawrance on the DOTT

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.

The Downtown Ottawa Transit Tunnel (DOTT) has received its share of criticism, mostly about the $700M price tag associated with it. Mayoral candidate Robin Lawrance, however, has public safety concerns with the project.

A month ago, we had an earthquake, remember? What have we got underground, has anybody asked? Bedrock. You keep shifting that bedrock, you’re going to have a major earthquake, down comes all the buildings, hundreds of thousands will be dead. We don’t even have a disaster team put together.

Although the recently-released environmentally assessment contained no reference to an increased risk of earthquake due to the tunneling (which will be about 100 feet underground), Lawrance still cautions about the risk.

He's also concerned about price, though, and would prefer to see the city look at expanding O-Train service, although he didn't offer details on specifics of any plan. And Lawrance also said that the city could pursue agreements with VIA Rail to "open up the rest of the tracks in the city".