Info on Alternatives: Rapid Transit

The Rapid Transit alternative to Queensway expansion is the implementation of the City of Ottawa's plan for rapid transit which is part of the City's Transportation Master Plan.

The big challenge in implementing the rapid transit plans, remains how to secure funding for the infrastructure. By considering highway widening, the provincial Ministry of Transport is indicating its willingness to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the wrong transportation priority for Ottawa's needs.

If the Ministry of Transport has over $150 million to spend on Ottawa's transportation needs, it would get a better return on its investment if it spent the money on east-west light rail as planned for the City's Transportation Master Plan and shown in their map as dashed red lines (listed as Future Rail Rapid Transit). The Ontario Ministry of Transport has not pledged a penny to east-west light rail, yet.

What would an east-west light rail line buy us in comparison to the Queensway expansion?

• Light rail would run all the way from Kanata to Orleans. The Queensway in contrast would only be widened in some sections west of Carling to the 416 and east of Metcalfe to Anderson road but not along highway 174 (and minimal widening near some ramps in the central section).
• A single light rail line can carry the equivalent of 7 lanes of highway traffic. The proposed Queensway expansion will only add 1 lane in each direction to some parts of the Queensway.
• Light rail is more reliable and faster than buses because they don't have to share the road with cars, which all buses do at some point in their route. Using light rail to commute is also more reliable than cars for the daily commute because any accident or mishap on the Queensway causes unforeseen delays for motorists. How often have you listened to a traffic report on the radio during rush hour and not heard about a problem somewhere on the road?
• Light rail is complementary to both cycling and walking because both pedestrians and cyclists can use the train for part of their trips. The priorities in the transportation plan for the City of Ottawa are supposed to be walking first, cycling second followed by transit and the single occupant vehicle last.
• For the past several years, the Ontario Ministry of Transport spent 10 times more on road projects than on transit projects in eastern Ontario. Spending on light rail would enable the Ministry to get its spending in line with the City of Ottawa's Official Plan.

Updated June 26, 2005

E-mail the webmaster for this site