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1. MOTION REFERRED TO THE PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE AND THE TRANSIT COMMITTEE, RE: RAPID TRANSIT PLAN FOR RIVERSIDE SOUTH AND LEITRIM MOTION RENVOYÉE AU COMITÉ DE L’URBANISME ET DE L’ENVIRONNEMENT ET AU COMITÉ DU TRANSPORT EN COMMUN SUR UN PLAN DE TRANSPORT EN COMMUN RAPIDE POUR RIVERSIDE SUD ET LEITRIM |
Recommandation du Comité
Aucune recommandation du Comité
Documentation
1.
Coordinator’s report, Planning and Environment Committee dated
12 January 2007
(ACS2007-CCS-PEC-0003).
2. Extract of Draft Minutes, 13
February 2007.
Report to/Rapport au:
Planning and Environment Committee
Comité de l'urbanisme et de
l'environnement
12 January 2007 / le 12 janvier 2007
Submitted by/Soumis
par : M. J. Beauregard, Coordinator,
Planning and
Environment Committee /Coordonnatrice du
Comité de l’urbanisme et de
l’environnement
(613) 580-2424, ext./poste 21622
That the
Planning and Environment Committee refer the following recommendation to staff,
as per Council Motion 3/7 approved by Council on 14 December 2006):
BE IT RESOLVED that until such time as City Council has approved a rapid transit plan for Riverside South and Leitrim that development in the respective growth areas be limited to that which can be accommodated using the road network without the benefit of rapid transit."
That Council approve the City’s participation in
the Nicholas Mann Gateway as described in Document 1, through the Planning,
Environment and infrastructure policy branch.
That Council approve the funding of $20,000 to
support the Community’s participation in the Nicholas Mann Gateway community
planning initiative.
That Council support the allocation of seed funding
of $60,000 in the 2007 budget for the City of Ottawa’s 10% component of a
future Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) request for Green Municipal
Funds Grants.
RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité de
l’urbanisme et de l’environnement réfère la recommandation suivante au
personnel, suite à la résolution # 3/7 approuvée par le Conseil de ville le 14
décembre 2006)
IL EST RÉSOLU QUE, en attendant
l’approbation d’un plan de transport en commun rapide au Conseil municipal pour
Riverside Sud et Leitrim, les aménagements dans les secteurs respectifs en
expansion soient limités à la capacité du réseau routier sans les avantages du
transport en commun rapide.
Que
le Conseil approuve la participation de la
Ville à
l’aménagement
de la
structure d’ accueil de
Nicholas Mann tel que décrit dans
le document 1, par l’entremise du département des politiques d'urbanisme,
d'environnement et d'infrastructure
Que
le Conseil approuve le financement de la somme de 20, 000$ afin de supporter l’initiative et
la participation communautaire à
l’aménagement
de
la
structure d’accueil Nicholas
Mann.
Que
le Conseil supporte l’allocation d’un financement de base de 60,
000$ dans son
budget
de 2007 afin
d’assurer la composante de 10% que la
contribution
de la Ville
d’Ottawa
offrira dans
une
éventuelle demande de
la Fédération Canadienne des Municipalités
pour une bourse provenant des fonds municipaux verts.
BACKGROUND
City Council, at its meetings held 14 & 18 December 2006, referred the following Motion, moved by Councillor P. Hume and seconded by Councillor M. McRae, to the Planning and Environment Committee and the Transit Committee:
WHEREAS City Council has rejected the LRT plan for the city’s southern
growth area (Leitrim and Riverside South);
AND WHEREAS providing rapid transit to the City’s southern growth area
(Leitrim and Riverside South) is critical to ensuring a proper transportation
system for southern Ottawa;
AND WHEREAS the planning (Environmental Assessments) and construction
of rapid transit systems require significant lead time;
AND WHEREAS development continues to occur in southern growth area
(Leitrim and Riverside South) without the benefit of rapid transit;
AND WHEREAS it is in the best interest of the City of Ottawa to bring
rapid transit to southern growth area (Leitrim and Riverside South) as soon as
possible so that residents can take public transit and leave the car at home;
AND WHEREAS the only other viable rapid transit alternative is to
extend the existing transitway to southern growth area (Leitrim and Riverside
South);
AND WHEREAS since the South East Transitway currently terminates at
South Keys it would require construction of 13.7 kilometres of transitway to
bring rapid transit to the River Road station using the LRT right of way at a
cost of between $10 to $20 million dollars a kilometre;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that staff be directed to prepare a plan, for
consideration by Transit Committee in April 2007, that extends the South East
Transit way to the River Road Station and provides the same level of transit
service that was contemplated using LRT;
AND FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that $300 million of the funding, formally
allocated to North South LRT, be reserved for rapid transit services to
Riverside South and Leitrim to be allocated based on the plan approved by
Transit Committee and City Council;
AND FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that until such time as City Council has approved a rapid transit plan for Riverside South and Leitrim that development in the respective growth areas be limited to that which can be accommodated using the road network without the benefit of rapid transit.
Subsequently, the Transit Committee met on 17 January 2007 and referred the Motion contained under the heading Report Recommendation to the Planning and Environment Committee.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no direct financial implications as a result of this report.
CONSULTATION
This item will be advertised in the local dailies as part
of the Public Meeting Advertisement on the Friday preceding the meeting.
Planning, Transit and the Environment Department staff to take appropriate action on the Planning and Environment Committee’s direction.
MOTION REFERRED TO THE PLANNING AND
ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE AND THE TRANSIT COMMITTEE, RE: RAPID TRANSIT PLAN FOR
RIVERSIDE SOUTH AND LEITRIM
MOTION RENVOYÉE AU COMITÉ DE L’URBANISME ET DE
L’ENVIRONNEMENT ET AU COMITÉ DU TRANSPORT EN COMMUN SUR UN PLAN DE TRANSPORT EN
COMMUN RAPIDE POUR RIVERSIDE SUD ET LEITRIM
ACS2007-CCS-PEC-0003 City Wide
Ward Councillor and Committee member Steve Desroches introduced the item by saying that this Motion has caused some concern in the community. He felt that supporting it would undermine the City's Official Plan and the Community Design Plan for Riverside South. The Councillor did not believe anyone expected the City would not move forward with some kind of mass transit system to serve the southern part of the City. He pointed out that the 2007 budget contains measures to address public transit issues in the Riverside South and Leitrim, such as a Park and Ride in Leitrim and a second one at Earl Armstrong and Leitrim Road.
Councillor Desroches asked for staff to comment on the legality of the course of action described in the Motion. Mr. Tim Marc, Manager, Planning and Environment Law advised that the only way this could be accomplished would be through an Official Plan Amendment that would introduce the necessary policies limiting development in the area.
Councillor Desroches went on to say that the Committee has dealt with intensification issues and taking the south out of the equation would force growth to move east and west and put increased pressure on the core of the City. The Riverside South community is growing: over the last number of years, schools and other amenities have been built: a high school is planned, retail stores are going in and the CDP is being implement with the exception of Light Rail.
In reply to a query from Councillor Gord Hunter, Councillor Desroches indicated he did not have an alternative Motion to present. His intent, in light of Mr. Marc's comments, was that staff not spend any time looking into this matter.
Mr. Scott Hodge, President, Riverside South Community Association, asked that the Motion not be approved, making the following points in support of his request:
· OC Transpo will make a number of changes in September to address transit requirements in Riverside South;
· The addition of two Park and Ride facilities represent the first step towards improving transit in the area;
· The lack of transit services and reduced commercial growth in the area make the community less attractive to potential homeowners;
· There could be an impact on a number of development projects already under way or at the building permit or planning stages.
Councillor Hunter asked whether the speaker could confirm that the community believes the benefits of increased development outweigh the costs of it remaining in limbo and recognize that there will be problems on area roads. Mr. Hodge responded by saying that the 2007 Capital budget calls for widening of Limebank Road in 2008 and 2009 and the eventual building of the Strandherd Bridge. He added that, while the community recognizes there will be short-term pain, this is preferable to the cessation of development altogether.
Mr. Doug Kelly, representing Urbandale Corporation and Riverside South Development Corporation, expressed support for the comments made by the previous speakers. He pointed out that Urbandale has been working in Riverside South since 1993 and is currently engaged in discussions related to a high school for the area. Mr. Kelly asked that the Committee not support the Motion.
Mr David Jeanes, Transport 2000, pointed out that, to date, development in Riverside South had occurred without any real transit planning. He cited the following as examples in support of his contention that there has been a real neglect of transit need:
· Local bus service is one directional and round trips must be taken via South Keys;
· No extra capacity was added to the Greenboro Park and Ride since it overflowed in 2001;
· Light Rail (O-Train) services could have been extended in 2003, when the Pilot Project was deemed a success, by using the rail corridor to Leitrim Road;
· There could be an extension of the O-Train this year if Council addressed the issue.
Mr. Jeanes went on to say that putting development on hold rather than seriously looking at how to meet the needs of the community would be wrong. There is every indication that the Strandherd Bridge is going to be built quickly. Once built, it will open up the whole of Riverside south to bus rapid transit from the Woodroffe Transitway. Mr. Jeans posited that extending the O-Train to Leitrim Road would address some of the serious problems in the south end. Traffic on a widened Limebank Road would have somewhere to go to which it will not have since it will be bottlenecked north of Hunt Club. This would also solve the problem of cars trying to go through Blossom Park and take some pressure off the Airport Parkway. Mr. Jeanes concluded his remarks by saying it would be relatively straightforward, quick and cheap to extend the O Train, however this is not being considered in this year's budget. The recommendation is to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to expand bus transitways when street capacity downtown is unable to absorb the extra traffic this will generate. Mr. Jeanes recommended against a freeze in Riverside South because other options are available.
Committee Discussion
Councillor Jan Harder referred to correspondence from the Barrhaven Business Improvement Area, stating how important it was that south Ottawa continue to grow as planned. She felt that, in light of a number of community design plans adopted over the last year, it was important that growth continue as approved.
Councillor Clive Doucet said he felt Riverside south and Leitrim should not grow without the proper roadway and transit networks being in place. He expressed the view that, in spite of assurances to the contrary, the local population will demand more roads with more growth. The Councillor made reference to traffic conditions on Bank Street, and he posited that Limebank Road would be widened before the problems on Bank Street are addressed.
Councillor Diane Holmes spoke about past Councils having agreed to approve subdivisions in the Leitrim area without servicing the community. She asked that staff do some thinking about the planning rationale and that departments work together if they are not already doing so.
The Deputy City Manager, Planning, Transit and the Environment, Ms. Nancy Schepers, pointed out that transit services are now amalgamated with planning services and staff is examining planning and tactical aspects. She indicated that staff would prepare a White Paper on the Official Plan, which has to be refreshed in 2008. As well, the Transit Committee will look at the Transportation Master Plan in April, and review other significant transportation policies. Ms. Schepers pointed out that Legal Counsel had already advised the Committee that the appropriate way to deal with this issue be through an Official Plan amendment.
The Committee then considered the report recommendation:
That the Planning and Environment Committee
refer the following recommendation to staff, as per Council Motion 3/7 approved
by Council on 14 December 2006:
BE IT RESOLVED that until such time as City
Council has approved a rapid transit plan for Riverside South and Leitrim that
development in the respective growth areas be limited to that which can be
accommodated using the road network without the benefit of rapid transit.
LOST
(C. Doucet in favour)