Strong Towns Ottawa has sent an open letter to all Councillors with our concerns regarding Lansdowne.
Read our letter below.
Dear councillor,
Strong Towns Ottawa would like to express concern about the current Lansdowne 2.0 plans. While we recognise the need for improvements, replacements, densification and proper sports and event facilities, we are not comfortable with a number of issues.
Strong Towns Ottawa has argued for over a year now that transit access to Lansdowne has to be improved, even without the new plans. During event days, Bank Street and the surrounding area are a nightmare for both visitors and residents. Bus schedules are becoming completely unreliable, with routes 6 and 7 having the most cancelled trips. Lansdowne 2.0 will be even worse for traffic. Visitors are stuck in traffic with engines running. The City has committed to promoting alternative forms of transportation. The current situation at Lansdowne does not allow for other modes to thrive. For Lansdowne 2.0 to have any chance of success, proper public transit in the form of fully dedicated bus lanes is required.
We believe nudging people into transit and experiencing a fast and smooth ride is important for traffic flow and the environment. Therefore, we strongly recommend adding permanent bus lanes on Bank Street. We believe that current discussions about bus lanes on Bank Street in the Glebe are based on fear of the unknown while ignoring both existing travel and parking data and the bigger picture of traffic flow and air quality.
While other city infrastructure is neglected or its maintenance postponed, the city takes on debt to help make Lansdowne a success, even after the Lansdowne partnership posted yet another loss. We are concerned about the lower number of stadium seats, which may, and likely will, increase event ticket prices. We believe higher ticket prices will undermine equality in our city. As consumers only have so much to spend, higher ticket prices also means that that money can not be spent somewhere else in the city.
Many residents have expressed frustration about the transparency of the project. If councillors and the media already express worries about understanding the financial consequences, how are citizens expected to understand what happens with their tax dollars? We don’t think the City has communicated properly what happens if the plans don’t pan out. The timelines are extraordinary and cost is always increasing.
What are the worst case scenarios? What if the cost is going up faster than foreseen? What if a sports team moves on? What if bands decide on smaller venues? Given the situation south of the border, today’s models can be worthless tomorrow. Many of us feel the plans are being ushered through Council to limit the sound of critical voices.
Large city projects mean that many people and lots of public money is involved. At the tail end of LRT phase 1, we have seen several people quietly leaving their positions after a damning report on how phase 1 was handled. A project like this should have enthusiastic support from everyone at Council. It doesn’t. That possibly only around half of City council feels comfortable attaching their name to it, is very concerning to us. In short, we want to stress once again that we are not against further developing Lansdowne, in fact we encourage it, but we are nervous about accessibility, the many assumptions that are made to justify the cost, the way the plan is being ushered through Council, and the accountability of tax dollars being spent.
May we ask one question? If you are planning to vote in favour, and you were asked to invest in it with your own money, would you remortgage your house to become a partner in Lansdowne 2.0? Respectfully,
Strong Towns Ottawa