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The city must “get creative” if it wants to bring the O-Train all the way to Riverside South, planning boss Steve Willis said Thursday.
Tweaking the proposed extension of the north-south Trillium Line to bring trains almost a kilometre closer to the fast-growing suburb can be done as part of the $3-billion Stage 2 transit program. The future station would move south from a rural area along Bowesville Road to Earl Armstrong Road.
But a further three-kilometre extension to the community’s future town centre at the corner of Earl Armstrong and Limebank roads — which would cost roughly $40 million, including $8 million to $10 million for an additional train — is beyond what the city can afford.
That creates, in the words of Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, an “opportunity to work with the development community,” although what exactly that would look like still needs to be hammered out.
The city could explore using development charges to raise the cash it needs, though Willis said city officials have only begun to figure out how this might work and whether the charges, which would be applied to cost of building every new home in a specific geographic area, could cover all or part of the cost.
It’s also possible either of the senior levels of government could launch a new infrastructure program that would be looking for shovel-ready projects to fund.
How developers will respond remains to be seen, but Willis said he’s hopeful they will see it as an opportunity. “Both sides understand the affordability envelope stops at (Bowesville) station and if anybody wants to have a conversation about it going beyond that, then we have to get creative.”
Area-specific development charges have been used before in Ottawa, most notably to cover an $8-million upgrade to Millenium Park in Orléans. An agreement between the city and four developers paved the way for the addition of an artificial turf field, new soccer fields, splash pads and a field house — all on the builders’ dime. The city borrowed the money and the developers made the repayments.
Even if the extension to Limebank can’t be achieved as part of the Stage 2 expansion, Willis said shifting the alignment and station location makes “good planning sense” because it brings it closer to the community and won’t require trampling on environmentally-sensitive lands.
“Getting the service closer to the people who will use it means that they’re more likely to adopt it early,” he said.
The new alignment and relocation of Bowesville station is better for future residents of the community, which will grow to the east, and also allows for better land-use planning on the north side of Earl Armstrong, said Marcel Dénommé, director of planning and land development for Urbandale. The company is one of the partners in the Riverside South Development Corporation, which owns most of the land south of Earl Armstrong where the future rail corridor would go.
“We just have to figure out a way to get it to the town centre somehow so we’re going to be working with the city to see how to get it there,” he said, adding once the cost details have been hammered out, Urbandale will take a look.
Bringing rail service to the Riverside South town centre — which is to eventually include a mix of retail, a joint library and community centre, and a park — will make the area more attractive to people looking to buy homes there, said Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Michael Qaqish.
“We all benefit from bringing transit closer to the town centre,” he said.
mpearson@postmedia.com
twitter.com/mpearson78
查看原文...
Tweaking the proposed extension of the north-south Trillium Line to bring trains almost a kilometre closer to the fast-growing suburb can be done as part of the $3-billion Stage 2 transit program. The future station would move south from a rural area along Bowesville Road to Earl Armstrong Road.
But a further three-kilometre extension to the community’s future town centre at the corner of Earl Armstrong and Limebank roads — which would cost roughly $40 million, including $8 million to $10 million for an additional train — is beyond what the city can afford.
That creates, in the words of Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, an “opportunity to work with the development community,” although what exactly that would look like still needs to be hammered out.
The city could explore using development charges to raise the cash it needs, though Willis said city officials have only begun to figure out how this might work and whether the charges, which would be applied to cost of building every new home in a specific geographic area, could cover all or part of the cost.
It’s also possible either of the senior levels of government could launch a new infrastructure program that would be looking for shovel-ready projects to fund.
How developers will respond remains to be seen, but Willis said he’s hopeful they will see it as an opportunity. “Both sides understand the affordability envelope stops at (Bowesville) station and if anybody wants to have a conversation about it going beyond that, then we have to get creative.”
Area-specific development charges have been used before in Ottawa, most notably to cover an $8-million upgrade to Millenium Park in Orléans. An agreement between the city and four developers paved the way for the addition of an artificial turf field, new soccer fields, splash pads and a field house — all on the builders’ dime. The city borrowed the money and the developers made the repayments.
Even if the extension to Limebank can’t be achieved as part of the Stage 2 expansion, Willis said shifting the alignment and station location makes “good planning sense” because it brings it closer to the community and won’t require trampling on environmentally-sensitive lands.
“Getting the service closer to the people who will use it means that they’re more likely to adopt it early,” he said.
The new alignment and relocation of Bowesville station is better for future residents of the community, which will grow to the east, and also allows for better land-use planning on the north side of Earl Armstrong, said Marcel Dénommé, director of planning and land development for Urbandale. The company is one of the partners in the Riverside South Development Corporation, which owns most of the land south of Earl Armstrong where the future rail corridor would go.
“We just have to figure out a way to get it to the town centre somehow so we’re going to be working with the city to see how to get it there,” he said, adding once the cost details have been hammered out, Urbandale will take a look.
Bringing rail service to the Riverside South town centre — which is to eventually include a mix of retail, a joint library and community centre, and a park — will make the area more attractive to people looking to buy homes there, said Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Michael Qaqish.
“We all benefit from bringing transit closer to the town centre,” he said.
mpearson@postmedia.com
twitter.com/mpearson78
查看原文...
