Raise the Hammer

That's an important point, because here in Ottawa we to had to make some hard budget choices about the city funding close to 40% of the cost of Phase 1 of the Confederation LRT Line. As someone who lives in Ottawa, I and others looked with disgust and stunned shock when members of Brampton's council turned down free LRT money from the province. We are still here in Ottawa expecting that we will have to pay up to 35% of phase 2 LRT work ourselves. Sorry to be a little bitter but where the hell is our free LRT lines from the province! Phase 2 of the LRT program (30km of service and 19 new stations) is expected to cost $3 Billion we have budgeted that we will pay locally up to $1.1 Billion of it ourselves. That doesn't include an unfunded 2.1 km extension of the Trillium Line (the original O-train line) to the airport and a possible 4 km extension of the Confederation line east to Trim road from the current planned terminus at Place D'Orleans.

I played a small role in getting the original O-train line started in 2001. I understand fully, the hard work, high levels of angst that everyone in your organization is currently going through right now at this point! I commend everyone in Hamilton who fought so hard and so long to get the interest up to the point that you helped move your city government towards accepting rail transit. You managed to turn around the supertanker that is your city government and bureaucracy, 180 degrees to accept LRT as a policy direction, its big deal! A big achievement.

However, there is part of me that gets a little upset when I see local politicians whom have obviously not been read the "riot act" by your mayor. "Get in line, or we could loose the cash! "A sort of urban legend that prevails here in Ottawa that, the mayor had closed door meetings with all the councilors and said no one was to go against anything in the LRT file in public unless, it has been discussed here first!

I think a group of or certain individual conservative members of your council have made a "political deal" with the Conservative Party of Ontario, over this issue and maybe a few more. Its the only thing that makes sense to me. There is just too much development in K-W and here in Ottawa that, is linked directly with construction of the LRT lines. Not the operation of a complete LRT line, just the construction of the LRT lines has spawned development.

No civic politician in Ontario, no matter what ward he or she represents, no matter the political leaning, could with a straight face, turn down the development potential that both K-W's and Ottawa's LRT lines are currently spawning and say, "sorry no thanks, were just not ready yet".