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(Updated
7:30 p.m., Jan. 13)
Kettle Island opponents succeed in getting committee to support second option
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans
Online The
ongoing debate over where to build an interprovincial bridge in the east end took
another turn on Monday after the city's transportation committee voted to include
a second option for study during the second phase of the Environmental Assessment
process. The
special committee meeting was convened to officially receive the final report
on Phase 1 of the interprovincial crossing authored by consultants NCE-Roche which
recommends Kettle Island as the best site out of six possible options. Receipt
of the report by the committee is necessary in order for it to proceed to city
council for full debate on Wednesday. The
meeting was expected to be little more than a formality, largely due to the fact
that city council has already endorsed Kettle Island as the preferred location
for an east end bridge. The
consultants' report, which was released last Monday, identifies Kettle Island
as the ideal location for an interprovincial bridge and recommends that it be
the only option brought forward for further study during the second phase of the
Environmental Assessment process. The
consultants' recommendation and city council's earlier decision has angered residents
living in Manor Park and Rockcliffe who are vehemently opposed to building a bridge
at Kettle Island. Knowing that it would be virtually impossible to torpedo the
Environmental Assessment process or get council to reverse its decision, they
decided in October to try and get a second option included in the second phase
of the study. Led
by Ottawa-Vanier MP Mauril Belanger and MPP Madeleine Meilleur they've been lobbying
the local city councillors and the Ontario government to have Lower Duck Island
included in the second phase of the study along with Kettle Island. Lower
Duck Island is seen as a more favourable site by the Kettle Island opponents because
access to a bridge there would avoid any populated areas by linking to Hwy. 174
just east of the Canotek Business Park. The
location consistently ranked second to Kettle Island in nearly every single category
looked at by the consultants except for costs and the potential impact on the
surrounding socio-economic environment. The
decision to ask that Lower Duck Island be included in the next phase of the Environmental
Process came after the committee sat through 14 hours of public presentations,
the vast majority of which were opposed to Kettle Island. A
number of the public presenters who came before the transportation committee on
Monday focused in on those two factors led by "No to Kettle Island"
spokesperson Jane Brammer "(The
consultants) have undervalued the affects a bridge will have on the community.
Travel efficiencies rated 25 per cent, costs rated 25 per cent, even the impact
on fish rated eight per cent, while the effect on the community and people only
rated 4.6 per cent. If the concerns for the community and people were more adequately
represented, Kettle Island would have come third or fourth," said Brammer. The
decision came after the committee sat through 14 hours of public presentations,
the vast majority of which were opposed to a consultants' recommendation to build
the bridge at Kettle Island. Manor
Park resident Jane Brammer kicked off the public presentations by criticizing
the public consultation process which she says has been largely ignored. "We
have given the consultants 1,688 submissions and yet there hasn't been a single
change in the final report to reflect that input," said Brammer. "They
have undervalued the affects a bridge will have on the community. Travel efficiencies
rated 25 per cent, costs rated 25 per cent, even the impact on fish rated eight
per cent, while the effect on the community and people only rated 4.6 per cent.
If the concerns for the community and people were more adequately represented,
Kettle Island would have come third or fourth." While
most of the presenters were opposed to building a bridge at Kettle Island, representatives
from six community associations in the far east end made a joint presentation
supporting the consultants' findings. Blackburn
Hamlet Community Association president Roger Smiley voiced his concern that a
location further east would only serve to create chaos on local roads and especially
Hwy. 174. "We
just cannot tolerate blockage to our access to the city during peak times,"
said Smiley whose comments were echoed by community association representatives
from Beacon Hill North, Fallingbrook, Riverwalk, Cardinal Creek and Chapel Hill
South. The
presidents of all nine community associations in the far east end recently signed
a letter of understanding along with all three far east end city councillors and
Galipeau, endorsing the consultants' findings and council's previous decision
to build a bridge at Kettle Island. The
debate now moves on to city council where the addition of a second option to the
process will likely be a contentious issue. Even if council were to endorse the
transportation committee's recommendation, it would still require the support
of at least one other stakeholder before it could get any legs. (This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of our local
business partners.)
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