CCC minutes Jan 27, 2011

DRAFT MINUTES - CITY CENTRE COALITION

7 p.m., January 27, 2011, Dalhousie Community Centre

Present:

John Verbaas, Action Sandy Hill, Chair

Leslie Kirk, Old Ottawa East Community Association, Vice-Chair

Ida Henderson, Dalhousie Community Association

Jordan Charbonneau, Centretown Citizens Community Association

Roland Dorsay, Island Park Community Association

George Wright, Glebe resident

Fraser Pollock, Hintonburg resident, Gift Shop Manager for Smith’s Falls Railway Museum

Cam Robertson, Dow’s Lake Residents’ Association, Meeting Secretary

• 1. Administrative

The minutes of the December 2, 2010 meeting were approved as circulated.

Dalhousie CA is seeking to have the bicycle and walking path immediately east of the O-Train right of way extended north including under Somerset Street via a tunnel when that street is rebuilt in 2011.

1. Western Extension of LRT

The meeting discussed what comments Roland, as CCC representative to the Environmental Assessment Public Consultation Group, would make to the consultant regarding “Alternative Corridors Evaluation Criteria”:

- The major criteria categories would be logically re-arranged as follows:

o Include “create successful rapid transit stations” as part of “increase ridership, mobility and capacity” rather than as a separate criterion

o Combine “apply sustainable design best practices” and “maximize sensitivity to natural environment”

o The analysis criterion “infrastructure re-use” should be dropped because it is redundant, with “capital costs” already taking use of existing facilities into account. If it were to be kept as a criterion, it should be applied to ALL use of existing infrastructure such as using Carling Avenue as an LRT route as well as using the Scott Street ditch for LRT.

CCC orders the reorganized criteria into the following three groups:

Most important group: - Promote smart growth

- Increase ridership, mobility and capacity

- Wise public investment

Next most important group: - Compatibility with adjacent communities

- Apply sustainable design best practices and maximize sensitivity to natural environment

Least important group:

- Provide a safe facility – Safety standards must be met. This

should be a given rather than an evaluation criterion to select between competing alternatives.

- Protect historical, cultural and archeological resources.

Questions for the consultant are:

- what is the difference in travel time for a train to take the Parkway route compared to the Carling route.

- What is the difference between “qualitative” evaluation and “comparative” evaluation?

• 1. Bike lane on Laurier Avenue going to Transportation Committee

CCC supports the staff proposal for a segregated bicycle lane. Because John is writing to the Committee on behalf of Action Sandy Hill, Cam will finalize and sign the CCC letter to the Committee on this proposal.

• 1. Budget

The draft budget includes $5 million for 2011 plus $50 million for 2012 to build the “Hospital Link” road from Riverside Drive to the General Campus of the Ottawa Hospital. John will ask staff and his Councillor’s office exactly what is to be built. (In the meantime Riverview Park CA has sent CCC information which has been circulated to the CCC list.) CCC opposes the expenditures because they are to build the Link as the first step of an Alta Vista highway. John will communicate CCC’s opposition to Council.

• 1. Postponement of Main Street and McIlraith Bridge Rehabilitation Projects

Leslie reported that Old Ottawa East CA wants to ensure that the $2.4 million taken out of that budget for cycling, bause the whole project is postponed, goes back to cycling somehow.

• 1. Centretown Buzz

John will be interviewed by the Buzz.

• 1. Rescue Bronson

Ida reported that the rebuilding of services under Bronson Avenue has been delayed to begin later than 2011. Dalhousie CA is proposing three lanes for cars rather than four with the centre lane being reversible.

• 1. Other business

Roland reported that the Cave Creek Sewer Reconstruction Project will close Carling Avenue between Island Park and Merivale for several months starting March 2011 resulting in traffic backups on the 417 right through the downtown.

The two NCC-led interprovincial crossings studies (transit and general traffic) are running behind schedule.

The next CCC meeting will be Thursday, February 24, 2011.

ADJOURNED

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