Raise the Hammer

Yesterday Ottawa got its portion of its phase 2 LRT money from the province of Ontario $1 Billion+. The Feds yesterday in the afternoon had a very small press conference confirming that yes, indeed the federal portion of your LRT money is coming. As in, "we will deliver the cash to your warm hands in a few weeks (months?) don't worry", it was actually quite comical in way desperately trying to make the point we haven't forgotten you, your money is coming, "don't worry please, don't panic"!

Today I'm attending a rare Saturday public meeting with my two sons in tow, ages 5 and 7, they like looking at train pictures and gets them out of the house away from a very tired mom. This public meeting will officially finish the last public portion of the EA process for phase 2 LRT. When I was confirming the location of the LRT meeting yesterday, I ran into a person I have known over the years who works at the Light Rail Implementation Office. I said, "congrats you got your funding it must feel really good!" She told me, wow I have no time today, were getting 100-200 calls an hour from the City's Planning and Infrastructure Office". "What's wrong", I inquired? "They are all going nuts now, they want to start doing the planning for phase 3 of the LRT system"! She lamented that from the minute, the premier spoke and said we got the provincial funding, they were already looking at time lines and possible project lists for phase 3 and were planning a meeting at 3:30 PM for getting a process design started. For those who don't know these basic planning to plan meetings can last for hours! I thought they must be excited, a meeting of unknown length on a beautiful, very warm Friday afternoon in June and in all likelihood because of the late hours, off the clock too (unpaid), wow! That's excitement!