LRT Had Chance To Shine In Storm And Didn’t
CTV Ottawa’s Graham Richardson grills Mayor Mark Sutcliffe on the pattern of service interruptions on Ottawa’s light-rail line.
For what it’s worth and your agent wrote about this as the major ice storm approached Ottawa, this weather event would be a real test for our troubled light-rail project.
In fact, better than that, the storm was an opportunity for LRT. It was a chance, that didn’t happen, to say we had a severe storm and while other modes of transport went down, our LRT did not.
That was an opportunity. It was missed. Instead we have videos of elderly people being ushered off a train after firefighters had to cut a chain-link fence to let the riders out. And it was slippery out there during the ice storm. The idea of elderly people, who have balance problems as they age and can be very badly hurt in a fall, walking long distances because the train broke down and freezing in a train that they cannot leave, is appalling.
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe is frustrated as much as anyone because of the rail woes. No … Sutcliffe should be appalled. Getting around during the storm was tricky for able-bodied people. Slipping can be deadly for elderly people and others with mobility problems. Our LRT put those people in jeopardy.
MARK SUTCLIFFE TWEET: Just Say Sorry
Too many people, particularly the strident bike lobby in Ottawa, think everyone is able-bodied. Sutcliffe is getting older so he will soon discover this. There are obstacles in this community that are impossible for seniors … not the least of which is senior abuse and neglect. LRT should not be an obstacle but an opportunity for the elderly.
OC Transpo and its trains had a chance to shine … for once.
As per usual, LRT didn’t.
This $2.2-billion project has failed again … and again and again and again …
This is unacceptable.
Ken Gray
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– The Bulldog – News Feed Enter 
News Release: “The city of Ottawa has been running into issues with its LRT project, which it has been working rectify, since its maiden run. Today the mayor of the city announced an inventory of emergency thermal blankets (which can be purchased for as low as $1.99 CDN and which retain body heat for up to 72 hours) will be stored on each car in the fleet during the winter months. After the ongoing fiasco that this product has become, Ottawa city council is finally being lauded for its ability to solve problems in a cost-effective, fast, and straightforward manner.”
If a butterfly flaps its wings in Madagascar, will Ottawa’s LRT break down?
Apparently Ottawa can expect 60 hours of ice rain every year, per Environment Canada. If only the people who report to work down at city hall, the ones who set the specifications for the LRT had known this! This useful little data point was only a phone call away for what now passes for an investigative journalist with The Citizen. Is this another example of the standard government employee response to the effect of “not my department”?
Mr. Benn:
I hear Mayor Sutcliffe is looking for money in the budget to hire a consultant to handle these duties.
Sorry Kosmo, “not my department”, “not my job spec”, …
Careful, Merrill – let’s not give OC another place to point the finger in their desperate attempts to avoid any responsibility.
Even if that Madagascar butterfly is not blameless, shouldn’t OC have known about it and built a fail-safe into the system to counteract butterfly wind? I’m sure someone will call for a fact-finding jaunt to Madagascar now to prove or disprove this theory. And we, of course, will underwrite the cost.