Written by Stephen Blais -- Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Beacon Hill-Cyrville Candidate Tim Tierney and Cumberland Candidate Stephen Blais are calling on City Council to shelve the tunnel portion of the City's current LRT plan until more money can be secured from upper levels of government in favour of building LRT links to Orleans, Kanata, Barrhaven and Riverside South.
“East End taxpayers will be paying our fair share of the billions for a transit plan but not surprisingly, City Council has decided that a train will never come to our community," says Cumberland Candidate Stephen Blais. "East End commuters are already plagued by a lack of proportionate road investment in our community, which is why I cannot in good conscience support the current LRT plan which will likewise plague our public transit commuters."
“Blair station does not have the facilities or parking to make it a transit hub, and with the additional bus traffic from Orléans, it will paralyze the local community and businesses,” adds Beacon Hill-Cyrville Candidate Tim Tierney. “If the goal is to get people out of their cars and onto public transit, this plan is seriously flawed.”
On October 25, 2010, taxpayers across the East End will have a clear choice about which candidates should earn their trust for the next four years. A simple referendum will be held:
- Choose change by electing candidates who favour bringing the train to the East End as soon as possible or
- Choose the status quo of incumbent City Councillors and pay billions in taxes for a train that will never come to our community.
Despite only receiving $600 million from the Ontario Provincial government and to date, only $200 million from the federal government, City Hall is moving forward with a $2.1 billion 25 year light rail plan that will only have a train from Tunney's Pasture to Blair. Before this Council elicits another lawsuit or wastes additional millions of taxpayers money, it's time for a change in approach by building a citywide plan for generations of Ottawans.
