King Estimates LRT Cost At $7 Billion

Interesting from this newsletter excerpt by Rideau-Rockcliffe Councillor Rawlson King is the estimate of the cost of the light-rail project.

King has the cost of the project at $7 billion when most estimates in the media have been running at $6.2 billion to $6.4 billion. The city is responsible for the cost of project overruns.

King’s newsletter excerpt is below:

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Council finalized its Transportation Master Plan. The culmination of over six years of work, the comprehensive plan outlines many necessary investments in the road and active transportation network to accommodate significant urban growth over the next two decades.

The City anticipates substantial demographic expansion, with population projections reaching 1.4 million by 2046. This growth will generate approximately 1.2 million additional daily trips across all transportation modes, including more than 620,000 new daily vehicle journeys.

The approved Plan used evidence-based strategic prioritization criteria, along with public input to propose future transit, road and active transportation projects across Ottawa. Through a motion endorsed by the majority of Council, the City recommitted to engage all senior levels of government to prioritize sustainable, data-driven transportation infrastructure investments, including more effective management of truck traffic throughout the City, including the urban core.

I was particularly satisfied that Council demonstrated vision and leadership by choosing to exclude an explicit study of a ring road from the final plan. Had such a project demonstrated genuine merit through the City’s rigorous, evidence-based evaluation process, it would have naturally emerged as a recommended infrastructure priority. Instead, the ring road proposal appeared only as an eleventh-hour amendment during committee deliberations. 

While acknowledging that a 2022 provincial report did reference the study of a ring road concept, that document clearly positioned it as a preliminary option for potential future consideration for construction by the Government of Ontario rather than an approved and funded recommendation. Our collective decision to maintain focus on the City’s own municipal transportation solutions, which were informed by comprehensive analysis and community consultation, reflects Council’s commitment to strategic, accountable infrastructure planning.

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This newsletter excerpt from Rideau Rockcliffe Councillor Rawlson King is courtesy of the city-wide community group Your Applewood Acres (And Beyond) Neighbours

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Arguments had been made that a ring road would help alleviate interprovincial truck traffic. The reality however is that a ring road simply cannot address interprovincial traffic. Ring roads serve regional traffic circulation, while crossings serve interprovincial capacity, with most truck demand in our region destined to service Ottawa’s urban core. Because these traffic flow patterns are entirely different, an east-west bypass of the city core cannot address north-south interprovincial traffic between Ottawa and Gatineau. These are fundamentally different transportation needs that require different solutions.

Through Council’s motion encouraging the exploration of holistic solutions, the City will now be enabled to explore tangible, data-driven solutions with its government partners to address traffic growth. Solutions must include leveraging the City’s $7 billion investment in light rail, as well as the continued exploration of real solutions for interprovincial truck traffic such as a downtown truck tunnel, rather than the federal government’s proposed interprovincial bridge at Kettle Island.

The future of Ottawa lies in targeted, evidence-based solutions, not in expensive infrastructure projects that misunderstand the fundamental nature of our transportation challenges.

For You:

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U.S.-Canada Relationship Is Abusive: FRUM

How To NIMBY Your Problem: CRERAR

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