Dear Ms. Alloggia:

Thank you for writing to me to express your concerns about the City of Ottawa's proposal to build a maintenance facility for the North-South corridor of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) project. I appreciate your feedback on this issue.

We believe that increasing public transit is an important part of reducing greenhouse emissions and improving gridlock in our cities. That is why we have made substantial investments in the renewal and expansion of municipal transit systems by dedicating 1.5 cents per litre of the existing provincial gas tax to municipalities for public transit. This amount will increase to two cents in October.

We are strongly committed to expanding public transit in Ottawa. This is why, on May 9, 2005, we announced our partnership with the federal and municipal governments to invest $600 million in the rapid transit program. On December 20, 2005, we also invested an additional $10 million in public transit in Ottawa. These investments will help Ottawa to expand their LRT system with projects such as the North-South corridor.

The development of a North-South LRT corridor from the Rideau Centre to the Barrhaven Town Centre, including the addition of a maintenance facility, began in April 2004 when the city commissioned an Environmental Assessment (EA). Three possible sites were considered for locating the maintenance facility:

• The Walkley yard, located south of Walkley Road and north of Johnston Road
• The Airport Parkway, located north of Lester Road and south of Hunt Club Road, west of the CPR Line and south of Windsor Park, and
• Transport Canada Lands, located east of Bowesville Road and west of Lester Road.

After reviewing all three sites and assessing their eligibility using a complex list of criteria, city staff recommended that the maintenance facility be located on the Airport Parkway site. This recommendation was included in the EA that was submitted to the Ministry of the Environment on September 9, 2005.

I would like to note that the City of Ottawa held four public consultation sessions during the site review process. For more information about the public consultations, please visit their website at www.ottawa.ca/public_consult/lrt/ns/index_en.shtml.

The Ministry review of this EA was completed on December 23, 2005, and the Ministry concluded that the proponent had met the requirements of the Environmental Assessment Act. The Ministry is now allowing five weeks of public comment on this EA, expiring on February 6, 2006. The comments gathered during this time period will be considered, and Minister Broten will make a final decision.

If you would like to participate in this process, you may review the EA and provide your comments on it to Minister Broten. Please visit the Environmental Registry website at www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/env_reg/ebr/english/index.htm.

Pending environmental approval, the ultimate decision on where to build this maintenance facility rests with the City of Ottawa Council. For that reason, I strongly urge you to share your concerns with your city councilor, and his Worship Bob Chiarelli. Mayor Chiarellli may be reached by e-mail at Bob.Chiarelli@ottawa.ca or by mail at 110 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 1J1.

Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.

Yours truly,

Dalton McGuinty, MPP
Ottawa South
Premier of Ontario