- 注册
- 2002-10-07
- 消息
- 402,590
- 荣誉分数
- 76
- 声望点数
- 228
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and Mayor Jim Watson are pledging to “work constructively” to solve the impasse between the city and the National Capital Commission over the western expansion of light rail.
“Both the Government of Canada and the City of Ottawa have committed to taking the next 100 days to continue to work constructively along with the NCC toward a solution on this transit issue,” the pair said in a statement released Thursday.
“Moving forward, we have agreed to stay in close contact, meet on a more regular basis on a range of regional issues, and maintain a positive dialogue as we work together for the betterment of our great Capital.”
The mayor met Baird, an Ottawa MP and the federal minister responsible for the NCC, at the minister’s office inside the Lester B. Pearson building on Sussex Drive Thursday morning.
Watson told reporters Wednesday that he hoped the meeting would help to improve communications between the city and the federal government, whose decisions, the mayor says, often come as a surprise to the city.
At the heart of the issue is the 1.2-kilometre section of the proposed $980-million Richmond Underground line that would cross NCC land along the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway.
The city wants to run the line through a trench, 700 metres of which would be partly covered. The NCC board has said it would not approve the line unless it allowed unimpeded access to the Ottawa River shoreline and had a “minimal visual impact” on the parkway corridor landscape.
The city says it can’t afford the extra $300 million to $400 million it would cost for a tunnel along the river and doesn’t support surface rail along Richmond Road or the Byron Linear Park.
Watson and Baird’s meeting comes nearly a week after the NCC announced its board of directors believe the NCC-owned Rochester Field on Richmond Road in Westboro is a better option for light rail than along the Ottawa River, unless the city is prepared to dig a deep tunnel for the trains.
Watson has said the city wants to lock down the proposed route in time to apply for federal funding sometime next year.
mpearson@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/mpearson78
查看原文...
“Both the Government of Canada and the City of Ottawa have committed to taking the next 100 days to continue to work constructively along with the NCC toward a solution on this transit issue,” the pair said in a statement released Thursday.
“Moving forward, we have agreed to stay in close contact, meet on a more regular basis on a range of regional issues, and maintain a positive dialogue as we work together for the betterment of our great Capital.”
The mayor met Baird, an Ottawa MP and the federal minister responsible for the NCC, at the minister’s office inside the Lester B. Pearson building on Sussex Drive Thursday morning.
Watson told reporters Wednesday that he hoped the meeting would help to improve communications between the city and the federal government, whose decisions, the mayor says, often come as a surprise to the city.
At the heart of the issue is the 1.2-kilometre section of the proposed $980-million Richmond Underground line that would cross NCC land along the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway.
The city wants to run the line through a trench, 700 metres of which would be partly covered. The NCC board has said it would not approve the line unless it allowed unimpeded access to the Ottawa River shoreline and had a “minimal visual impact” on the parkway corridor landscape.
The city says it can’t afford the extra $300 million to $400 million it would cost for a tunnel along the river and doesn’t support surface rail along Richmond Road or the Byron Linear Park.
Watson and Baird’s meeting comes nearly a week after the NCC announced its board of directors believe the NCC-owned Rochester Field on Richmond Road in Westboro is a better option for light rail than along the Ottawa River, unless the city is prepared to dig a deep tunnel for the trains.
Watson has said the city wants to lock down the proposed route in time to apply for federal funding sometime next year.
mpearson@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/mpearson78
查看原文...
