2. EAST-WEST
CORRIDOR LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT PROJECT (ORLEANS TO KANATA) - ENVIRONMENTAL
ASSESSMENT - TERMS OF REFERENCE |
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONs
That Council:
1. Approve the Terms of Reference for the
East-West Corridor Light Rail Transit Project (Orleans to Kanata) Environmental
Assessment.
2. Direct staff to submit the Terms of
Reference to the Ministry of the Environment for approval in accordance with
Section 6 (1) of Ontario's Environmental Assessment Act.
3. Direct staff to prepare the Statements
of Work for the environmental assessments of the Carling Corridor LRT Corridor
and the Rideau/Montreal Corridor LRT.
4. Approve the pre-commitment of $4M in the 2006 budget for the Carling LRT EA and the Rideau/Montreal LRT EA studies.
Recommandations DU
COMITÉ
Que le Conseil municipal :
1. approuve
le mandat de l’évaluation environnementale du tronçon est-ouest (d’Orléans à
Kanata) du projet de transport en commun par train léger.
2. demande au personnel de présenter le
mandat au ministère de l’Environnement pour approbation, conformément à
l’alinéa 6 (1) de Loi sur les
évaluations environnementales de
l’Ontario.
3. demande
au personnel de préparer les mandats des évaluations environnementales des
tronçons Carling et Rideau – Montréal du TTL.
4. approuve un engagement préalable de
4 M$ au budget 2006 pour les études d’ÉE des tronçons Carling et
Rideau – Montréal du projet de TTL.
Documentation
1. Deputy City Manager, Planning and Growth Management report dated 26 April 2005 (ACS2005-PGM-POL-0024).
2. Extract of Minutes, 18 May 2005.
Report to / Rapport au :
Transportation
Committee / Comité des transports
and Council / et au Conseil
April 26, 2005 / le 26 avril 2005
Submitted
by / Présenté par : Ned Lathrop, Deputy City Manager / Directeur municipal
adjoint
Planning and Growth Management /
Urbanisme et Gestion de la croissance
Contact Person: Vivi Chi,
Manager / gestionnaire, Transportation and Infrastructure Planning / Transports
et planification des infrastructures
(613)
580-2424 x21877, vivi.chi@ottawa.ca
REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Transportation
Committee recommend Council:
1. Approve the Terms of Reference for the East-West Corridor
Light Rail Transit Project (Orleans to Kanata) Environmental Assessment.
2. Direct staff to submit the Terms of Reference to the
Ministry of the Environment for approval in accordance with Section 6 (1) of
Ontario's Environmental Assessment Act.
3. Direct staff to prepare the Statements of Work for the
environmental assessments of the Carling Corridor LRT Corridor and the
Rideau/Montreal Corridor LRT.
4. Approve the pre-commitment of $4M in the 2006 budget for the Carling LRT EA and the Rideau/Montreal LRT EA studies.
RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT
Que
le Comité des transports recommande au Conseil municipal :
1. d’approuver le mandat de l’évaluation
environnementale du tronçon est-ouest (d’Orléans à Kanata) du projet de
transport en commun par train léger.
2. de
demander au personnel de présenter le mandat au ministère de l’Environnement
pour approbation, conformément à l’alinéa 6 (1) de Loi sur les évaluations environnementales de l’Ontario.
3. de demander au personnel
de préparer les mandats des évaluations environnementales des tronçons Carling
et Rideau – Montréal du TTL.
4. d’approuver
un engagement préalable de 4 M$ au budget 2006 pour les études d’ÉE des
tronçons Carling et Rideau – Montréal du projet de TTL.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Assumptions and Analysis:
The City's Transportation Master Plan identifies an expanded rapid transit network as key to achieving the goal of 30% transit modal split by 2021. This network of light rail and bus rapid transit was developed through the City's Rapid Transit Expansion Study (RTES), which was approved by Council on 26 February 2003 (Document 1). A follow-up implementation strategy (Ottawa Rapid Transit Expansion Program – Implementation Strategy (ORTEP) was received by Council on 24 September 2004 (Documents 2 and 3). At that meeting, Council authorized the commencement of the Environmental Assessment (EA) Studies for the North-South and the East-West Corridor Light Rail Transit (LRT) projects.
The proposed East-West LRT corridor would provide an improved east-west rapid transit connectivity bypassing the downtown. It would also serve extensive employment areas that currently exists along the corridor and are expected to double by 2021. The corridor presents a unique opportunity to influence development within growth areas of Kanata and Orleans as well as inside the Greenbelt. As such, it is prudent to undertake the EA to protect this corridor well in advance of construction.
On 7
April 2004, Transportation Committee approved the Statement of Work (SoW) for
the East-West Corridor LRT Project (Orleans to Kanata). The SoW describes the
study’s area (Figure 1) and the scope of work to be undertaken including
consultation efforts.
Before work commences on the Individual EA, a study Terms of Reference (ToR) must be prepared and submitted to the provincial Minister of the Environment for approval. Once approved, the ToR will set out the framework that will guide and focus the preparation of the EA.
In late 2004, a draft ToR was prepared and circulated for public and agency review. Comments received were incorporate, where appropriate, into a revised ToR that was presented to Transportation Committee for approval on 16 February 2005. At the meeting, delegations voiced concerns that were related to detailed issues that would be examined once the EA is underway. Responses to these issues, which also arose during consultation on the initial ToR, have been documented in the report. As well, there were a number of concerns raised regarding the process and involvement of the consultation groups. As a result, Committee referred the report and directed staff to consult again with the study’s consultation groups on the revised ToR.
The Study Team prepared a list of issues that were identified in the delegations’ presentations. These issues were circulated to all consultation groups and members were given an additional opportunity to add to this list if there were items of concerns that had not already been noted.
The Study Team prepared detailed responses, which were then forwarded to the consultation groups for review prior to follow-up meetings on 30 March 2005. Details of these issues and responses are captured in the ToR (Document 4, Appendix B, Annex 5).
There were only 3 issues that required a response at this stage in the process. The other issues are for detailed investigations once the EA is underway. These 3 issues are:
1. Applicability of the GO Transit Class EA to this E-W LRT (Individual) EA Study: As a provincial agency, GO Transit is the only transit agency that has an approved Class EA process for GO Transit projects. Even under GO Transit Class EA process, the construction of a new rail line has to follow an Individual EA process.
2. Definition of Air Quality, criteria, modeling versus monitoring: A definition for air quality has now been added to the ToR glossary. The Study will assess air quality issues with the most appropriate means available. Interested members of the Public Consultation Group (PCG) will meet with the Study’s Air Quality subconsultant to review available data, modeling inputs, assumptions, and calibration.
- Expansion of the study scope to include additional corridors such as those to Navan, Stittsville, Carleton Place, downtown, as well as Carling corridor: Downtown is already well served by four existing rapid transit links and a soon-to-be fifth link provided by the planned North-South LRT. Other rapid transit corridors identified in RTES, the TMP, and OP (such as Carling and Rideau/Montreal corridors) should be undertaken as separate studies. Due to the high level of interest in the Carling and Rideau/Montreal corridors, staff recommends that the EA studies for these projects be initiated in 2006.
At this time, it is not recommended that the study scope be expanded to include links that are not required within the planning horizon of the Official Plan. The EA study will not preclude future extensions to other areas such as to Carp, Stittsville, and Navan when growth and ridership warrant such extensions.
The actual timing of
implementation (design and construction) of any of these links, including the
East-West corridor as defined, will be reviewed and reported back to Committee
and Council for deliberation prior to making commitments on investments. An opportunity for this priority-setting
review could coincide with the 5-year review of the OP and the TMP.
The study area (as identified in the SoW
document) was extended to consider the two rapid transit corridors identified
in RTES to serve Kanata. Through
consultation feedback, the study area was also expanded southerly to include
Hunt Club Road (Figure 2).
Upon Committee and Council approval of the updated ToR (Document 4), the City will submit the document to the Ministry of the Environment (MOE). The MOE will post the ToR on the Environment Bill of Rights Registry, thus initiating a maximum12-week review period that includes 30 days for public review. Upon completion of the review period, the Minister can approve, amend, or reject the ToR. Once approval has been received, the City can proceed with the EA in accordance with the established ToR.
Financial Implications:
The EA studies for
the Carling Corridor LRT and the Rideau/Montreal Corridor LRT are identified in
the Long Range Financial Plan and the 2006-2014 Capital Forecasts for 2008 and
2013 respectively. In order to advance the studies to 2006, a pre-commitment of
$4 million in the 2006 Capital budget is requested. As this amount exceeds the
available envelopes for Rapid Transit EAs forecasted in 2006, project
substitution will be identified to allow the studies to proceed.
Public Consultation/Input:
In developing the ToR, the study team consulted with the general public, agencies and stakeholders through Consultation Group meetings (16 November 2004, 30 March 2005) and series of Open Houses (30 November 2004, 1 and 2 December 2004). Public notification of the study commencement and the open houses appeared in the Citizen, the Sun, and Le Droit on 19 and 26 November 2004 and on the City’s website.
It should be noted that the study team created a new Business Consultation Group to augment the representation of business groups along this 47 km corridor.
The ToR presented herein incorporates all relevant feedback and comments received through the consultation process. A detailed consultation summary is included in the attached Terms of Reference (Document 4, Appendix B).
RÉSUMÉ
Hypothèses et analyse :
Selon le Plan directeur des transports de la
Ville d’Ottawa, l’expansion du réseau de transport en commun rapide est l’un
des moyens essentiels d’atteindre l’objectif de 30 % des déplacements par
transport en commun d’ici 2021. Ce réseau de transport en commun rapide par
autobus et train léger a été créé en vertu de l’Étude sur l’expansion du réseau
de transport en commun rapide (ÉERTCR) de la Ville approuvée par le Conseil le
26 février 2003 (1er document). Le Conseil a reçu, le
24 septembre 2004 (2e et 3e documents),
une stratégie de mise en œuvre y donnant suite : la stratégie de mise en œuvre
du programme d’expansion du réseau de transport en commun rapide d’Ottawa
(PERTCRO). Au cours de cette réunion, le Conseil a autorisé le lancement des
évaluations environnementales (ÉE) des tronçons nord-sud et est-ouest des
projets de transport en commun par train léger (TTL).
Le tronçon est-ouest proposé du TTL
permettrait d’améliorer le service de transport en commun entre l’est et l’ouest
en contournant le centre-ville. Il servirait aussi les secteurs à forte
concentration d’emplois actuellement aménagés le long du tronçon. Ces secteurs
devraient être deux fois plus achalandés d’ici 2021. Ce tronçon est une
occasion unique d’influer sur l’expansion des secteurs en croissance à Kanata,
Orléans et dans la ceinture de verdure. Il est donc prudent d’entreprendre l’ÉE
pour protéger ce tronçon bien avant le début des travaux.
Le 7 avril 2004, le Comité
des transports a approuvé l’énoncé des travaux pour le tronçon est-ouest du TTL
(d’Orléans à Kanata). L’énoncé des travaux présente le secteur à l’étude
(figure 1) et la portée des travaux qui seront entrepris, y compris les
efforts de consultation.
Avant que l’ÉE puisse débuter, il
faut en produire le mandat et le soumettre à l’approbation du ministre
provincial de l’Environnement. Après approbation, le mandat orientera et
ciblera la préparation de l’ÉE.
À la fin 2004, un mandat provisoire
a été préparé et distribué à la population et aux organismes pour obtenir des
commentaires. Les commentaires pertinents ont été intégrés à un mandat refondu
qui a été présenté au Comité des transports pour approbation le
16 février 2005. À la réunion, les délégations ont exprimé leurs
inquiétudes quant aux problèmes détaillés qui seraient examinés pendant l’ÉE.
Les réponses à ces problèmes, qui ont aussi été mentionnés pendant la
consultation sur le mandat provisoire, sont documentées dans le rapport. De
plus, des préoccupations portaient sur le déroulement et la participation des
groupes de consultation. Le Comité a donc renvoyé le rapport et demandé au
personnel de consulter de nouveau les groupes de consultation sur l’étude du
mandat refondu.
L’équipe de l’étude a préparé une
liste des enjeux déterminés dans la présentation des délégations. Ces enjeux
ont été distribués à tous les groupes de consultation et les membres ont eu une
autre occasion d’ajouter à cette liste toute question qui n’y figurait pas
déjà.
L’équipe de l’étude a préparé des
réponses détaillées, qui ont par la suite été transmises aux groupes de
consultation pour qu’ils puissent les examiner avant les réunions de suivi du
30 mars 2005. Les détails de ces questions et les réponses se
trouvent dans le mandat (4e document, Annexe B,
Annexe 5).
À cette étape du processus, il n’y
avait que trois enjeux auxquels il fallait répondre. Les autres questions
ciblent les enquêtes détaillées qui auront lieu pendant l’ÉE. Voici les trois
enjeux :
- Applicabilité de l’ÉE de portée générale de GO Transit à l’étude
de l’ÉE (distincte) du tronçon E‑O du TTL : GO Transit est le seul
organisme provincial de transport en commun qui a un processus d’ÉE de
portée générale approuvé pour ses projets. Même si le processus d’ÉE de
portée générale de GO Transit est appliqué, la construction d’une
nouvelle voie ferrée doit suivre un processus d’ÉE distincte.
- Définition de la qualité de l’air, critères et modélisation
comparativement à la surveillance : Une définition de la qualité de l’air est
adoptée au glossaire du mandat. Les responsables de l’étude évalueront les
problèmes de qualité de l’air à l’aide des meilleurs moyens à leur
disposition. Les membres du groupe de consultation publique (GCP)
intéressés se réuniront avec le sous-consultant de l’étude sur la qualité
de l’air pour examiner les données disponibles, les intrants de la
modélisation, les hypothèses et la calibration.
- Expansion de la portée de l’étude pour ajouter d’autres tronçons,
par exemple, Navan, Stittsville, Place Carleton, centre-ville et
Carling : Le
centre-ville est déjà bien servi. Il y a quatre correspondances de
transport en commun déjà aménagées et un cinquième tronçon nord-sud du TTL
devrait entrer en service bientôt. Les autres tronçons de transport en
commun mentionnés dans l’ÉERTCR, le PDT et le PD (p. ex., Carling et
Rideau – Montréal) devraient faire l’objet d’études distinctes. Étant
donné que les tronçons Carling et Rideau – Montréal suscitent
beaucoup d’intérêt, le personnel recommande que les études d’ÉE de ces
projets soient entreprises en 2006.
Il n’est pas recommandé actuellement d’élargir la portée de l’étude pour
considérer des correspondances superflues selon l’horizon d’urbanisme du Plan
directeur. L’étude d’ÉE n’empêchera pas les expansions ultérieures dans
d’autres secteurs, notamment Carp, Stittsville et Navan, lorsque la croissance
et l’achalandage le justifieront.
L’échéancier actuel de mise en œuvre
(conception et aménagement) de l’une ou l’autre de ces correspondances, y
compris le tronçon est-ouest comme il est défini, fera l’objet d’un examen et
d’un rapport au Comité et au Conseil pour délibérations avant la prise
d’engagements sur les investissements. L’examen de l’établissement des
priorités pourrait coïncider avec l’examen quinquennal du PD et du PDT.
Le secteur à l’étude a été élargi
(voir l’énoncé des travaux) pour examiner les deux tronçons de transport en
commun rapide qui doivent servir Kanata selon l’ÉERTCR. À la suite des
commentaires tirés des consultations, le secteur à l’étude a aussi été élargi
au sud jusqu’au chemin Hunt Club (figure 2).
Lorsque le Comité et le Conseil auront approuvé
le mandat mis à jour (4e document), la Ville présentera
le document au ministère de l’Environnement (ME). Le ME versera le mandat au
Registre environnemental, ce qui marquera le début d’une période d’examen
maximale de 12 semaines, dont 30 jours pour l’examen public. Après la
période d’examen, le ministre pourra approuver, modifier ou rejeter le mandat.
Après approbation, la Ville pourra faire l’ÉE selon le mandat établi.
Répercussions financières :
Les études ÉE concernant le train léger sur rail du couloir Carling et
le train léger sur rail du couloir Rideau/Montréal sont déterminées dans le
Plan financier à long terme ainsi que
les prévisions d’immobilisation 2006-2014 pour 2008 et 2013 respectivement.
Afin de poursuivre les études jusqu’en 2006, un engagement préalable de 4 M$
dans le budget d’immobilisations de 2006 est nécessaire. Puisque ce montant
dépasse les enveloppes disponibles pour les ÉE du transport en commun rapide prévues
en 2006, on définira un projet de remplacement afin de permettre l’avancement
des études.
Consultation publique –
commentaires :
Pendant l’élaboration du mandat,
l’équipe de l’étude a consulté la population, des organismes et des
intervenants lors de réunions du groupe de consultation (les
16 novembre 2004 et 30 mars 2005) et d’une série de
réunions publiques (les 30 novembre 2004, 1er et
2 décembre 2004). Un avis public sur le début de l’étude et les
réunions publiques a été publié dans le Citizen, le Sun et Le Droit les 19
et 26 novembre 2004, et téléchargé au site Web de la Ville.
Il est bon de souligner que l’équipe de l’étude a créé un nouveau
groupe de consultation d’entreprises pour accentuer la représentation des
groupes d’entreprises le long de ce tronçon de 47 km.
Le mandat présenté ici comprend tous les
commentaires pertinents obtenus pendant le processus de consultation. Un résumé
détaillé des consultations est versé au mandat ci‑joint (4e document,
Annexe B).
BACKGROUND
In 2002, the City of Ottawa initiated the Rapid Transit Expansion Study (RTES). The purpose of RTES was to develop a strategic plan for rapid transit in Ottawa over the next 20 years, taking into consideration region-wide growth projections. The city’s population is forecasted to increase by 50% in the next 20 years, from 800,000 to 1,200,000 – with the number of jobs increasing from 500,000 to 750,000. RTES also assumed that transit travel would double from about 17% today to about 30% by 2021. Given the increase in population, this means that the number of transit trips would almost triple from 87 million to 250 million annually over the next 20 years. These land use, population and employment forecasts were used to identify travel demand patterns for future rapid transit. The strongest travel demand patterns were matched with potential transit corridors in a screening process to determine the best fit. Potential rapid transit corridors were identified from previous transportation plans, stakeholder/public consultation, and field observations. Then, the most promising corridors were combined into various rapid transit network and matched with suitable technologies. These network options provided broad coverage using a complementary system of buses and light rail vehicles.
The resulting recommended network was approved
by the Transportation Committee on 19 February 2003 and by Council on 26
February 2003. The approved Rapid Transit Network (Document 1) formed
the basis for the rapid transit component of the Transportation Master Plan.
Upon approval of RTES, staff was directed to develop an implementation strategy
for this long-term plan, including timelines, funding and partnership options,
and preliminary costs.
In July 2003, staff completed the
implementation strategy for the Ottawa Rapid Transit Expansion Program (ORTEP).
The purpose of this undertaking was to develop a detailed work program for
implementing the rapid transit network, taking into consideration the required
planning, approval, design, and construction stages. The rapid transit
corridors identified in RTES were regrouped into 3 LRT and 6 BRT corridors as
shown in Document 2:
Light
Rail Transit Projects
o (1-LRT) North-South Corridor (O-Train Expansion Corridor – Priority
Project)
o (2-LRT) East-West Corridor (including an interim BRT Cumberland
Transitway)
o (3-LRT) Carling Corridor
Bus Rapid Transit Projects
o (1-BRT) West Transitway Corridor
o (2-BRT) Southwest Transitway Corridor
o (3-BRT) Baseline Corridor
o (4-BRT) Hurdman to Blair Corridor
o (5-BRT) East Transitway Corridor
o (6-BRT) Albert/Slater Corridor
The ORTEP schedules, outlined in Document 3,
generally follow the priorities set in the RTES study and are based on the
logical rollout of each project and their implementation
interdependencies. On 24 September 2003
Council received the Ottawa Rapid Transit Expansion Program (ORTEP)
Implementation Strategy report and approved the following motions:
1. Proceed
immediately with the Environmental Assessment for the priority O-Train
Expansion LRT line from Rideau Centre to Limebank (Riverside South), thus
allowing the city to proceed with the option deemed most appropriate once
funding mechanisms have been confirmed;
2. Proceed
with the Environmental Assessment on the East-West LRT corridor.
The North South LRT priority project
Environmental Assessment (EA) is now well underway, with a study
completion date of July 2005.
Staff presented the Statement of Work (SoW) for
the East-West Corridor LRT Project to the Transportation Committee on 7 April
2004. The SoW described the study’s
corridor (Figure 1), scope of work, methodology for assessment, and public
consultation process. The SOW was
approved by the Transportation Committee without amendment. Following this,
Delcan Corporation was appointed at the end of September 2004 as the EA study
consultant in accordance with the City's Purchasing by-law for consultant
services.
FIGURE 1 E-W LRT Corridor as
identified in the Study’s Approved Statement of Work
The proposed LRT corridor would provide an improved east-west rapid transit connectivity bypassing the downtown. It would also serve extensive employment areas that currently exists along the corridor and are expected to double by 2021. The corridor presents a unique opportunity to influence development within growth areas of Kanata and Orleans as well as inside the Greenbelt. As such, it is prudent to undertake the EA to protect this corridor well in advance of construction. Once the planning work is completed, including defining the corridor and station locations, the City, landowners and developers would have certainty and incentives to focus new transit oriented development in the appropriate forms at the right locations.
The Study team developed draft Terms of
Reference (ToR) for this study with
consultation input from the general public, agencies and stakeholders. Comments received during the review of the
draft ToR were incorporate, where appropriate.
The revised ToR was presented to Transportation Committee on 16
February 2005. At the meeting,
delegations voiced concerns that were related to detailed issues that would be
examined once the EA is underway.
Responses to these issues, which also arose during consultation on the
draft ToR, have been documented in the report.
As well, there were a number of concerns raised regarding the process
and involvement of the consultation groups.
As a result, Committee referred the report and directed staff to consult
again with the study’s consultation groups on the revised ToR.
This report summarizes the efforts and outcome of the additional consultation, and the updated ToR.
DISCUSSION
The EA study is being carried out as an
Individual EA in accordance with the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act
(OEAA) and is being coordinated with the requirements of the Canadian
Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA). The technical and consultation efforts
required to satisfy both acts will be integrated to avoid duplication.
Under Section 6 (1) of the OEAA, a study Terms
of Reference (ToR) must be prepared and submitted to the Ministry of the
Environment (MOE) for approval prior to commencing an Individual EA study. The ToR
provides the framework for preparing the EA and serves as a benchmark
for reviewing the EA.
The ToR for the East-West Corridor LRT project
(Document 4) sets out the study requirements and describes the
methodology for conducting the EA, including:
·
Project
description and purpose;
·
Work
plan outlining the process to be followed and activities to be carried out in
the study including:
§
General
environmental assessment requirements;
§
Alternatives
to be considered;
§
Description
of the existing environment;
§
Potential
environmental effects;
§
Assessment
and evaluation process;
§
Preferred
alternative development;
§
Capital
and operating cost assessment;
§
Monitoring
strategy; and
§
Amending
procedure
·
Consultation
Plan; and
·
Documentation
Upon Committee and Council approval of the ToR,
the City will submit the document to the MOE.
The MOE will post the ToR on the Environment Bill of Rights Registry,
thus initiating a maximum12-week review period that includes 30 days for public
review. Upon completion of the review period, the Minister can approve, amend,
or reject the ToR. Once approval has been received, the City can proceed with
the EA in accordance with the established ToR.
Revisions to Study Area
The Rapid Transit Expansion Study (RTES)
identified two rapid transit corridors to serve Kanata. A Light Rail Transit (LRT) corridor to
Kanata North and a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor to Kanata West parallel to
Highway 417. The study area (Figure 2)
was revised to consider both route options.
The two options will be evaluated to determine which technology best
serves the existing and future growth.
Following the discussion with the Public Consultation Group, the study
area was also expanded southerly to include Hunt Club Road.
Note: Grey
arrows represent potential future extensions, dependant on growth and
ridership. These potential extensions
would be subject to separate future EA studies.
Figure 2. Revised Study Area
Summary
of Consultation Feedback on the Draft ToR (first round of consultation,
November and December 2004):
In
general, there is support for this study and many residents would like to see
this project implemented sooner than later. Over 40 written submissions were
received. Major issues and resulting
action plan/responses are summarised below:
Study Boundary:
The study area needs to be extended both inside
and outside the urban boundary (e.g., Stittsville, Carp, Kemptville, Navan,
Arnprior, downtown Ottawa).
Response: This route
and resultant study area were identified in the Council-approved RTES and defined
as a City priority within the next 20 years.
The project would not preclude future expansion to other areas when
demand increases significantly to warrant the expansion expenditure. The downtown component is already being
examined through the North-South LRT EA Study.
Transit Priorities:
A rapid transit link from
Kanata to downtown should have a priority over the East-West LRT.
Response: The West
Transitway (West Urban Community) Environmental Assessment was completed in the
late 1990’s and the project is identified in the TMP in Phase 1 (implementation
by 2008). Funding for design and implementation is needed to proceed further
with this project.
EA
Harmonization process:
The
tasks for the EA Study should include steps to fulfill the requirements of the
Canadian Environmental Assessment Act as a harmonized report.
Response: The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA)
and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment have been working together to
develop a coordinated approach. The ToR
document has been revised based on the advice received from CEAA to incorporate
specific text on the early and ongoing involvement of federal agencies and the
development and circulation of a "Project Description".
Response: The EA Act requires that all reasonable alternative
options be considered and examined.
Environmental
Indicators:
Additional
environmental indicators such as human health effects and quality of life
should be included.
Response: These indicators have been added.
Summary of Consultation Feedback following the
Transportation Committee meeting on 16 February 2005
The Study Team prepared a list of issues that were identified in the delegations’ presentations to Committee in February. These issues were circulated to all consultation groups and members were given an additional opportunity to add to this list if there were items of concerns that had not already been noted – on top of the issues already identified through previous consultation efforts.
From the feedback e-mails, the Study Team prepared detailed responses, which were then forwarded to the consultation groups for review prior to follow-up meetings on 30 March 2005. Details of these issues and responses are captured in the ToR (Document 4, Appendix B, Annex 5).
There were only 3 issues that required a response at this stage in the process. The other issues are for detailed investigations once the EA is underway. These 3 issues are:
4. Applicability of the GO Transit Class EA to this E-W LRT (Individual) EA Study.
5. Definition of Air Quality, criteria, modelling versus monitoring.
6. Expansion of the study scope to include additional corridors.
These are described as follows:
GO Transit Class EA:
Why is this
study being carried out as an individual EA when a Class EA for rail transit
projects has been established for GO Transit?
Response:
Municipalities are required to follow the Municipal Class EA process
which define this type of the undertaking as an Individual EA. As a provincial agency, GO Transit is the
only transit agency that has an approved Class EA process for GO Transit
projects. Even under GO Transit Class
EA process, the construction of a new rail line has to follow an Individual EA
process.
Air Quality, Modelling/Monitoring:
Air quality
is not well defined in the ToR and is inappropriately located in the social
criteria group. Modelling air quality
is insufficient, monitoring results need to be included in order to validate
the model. The Public Consultation
Group needs to be satisfied that the model is suitable, and would like to
review the model inputs and assumptions.
Response: The following definition of air quality has been added to
the ToR glossary: “Air Quality (AQ) refers to the impacts of air contaminants
that are considered to be harmful to human health, also known as Criteria Air
Contaminants (CACs)”. Air quality is
included in the social environmental criteria as the majority of the air
quality effects are related strongly to human health. The placement within this criteria grouping doesn’t alter the
thoroughness of the assessment. The impacts of the project on air quality are
noted to be assessed throughout the ToR, with respect to the alternative
solutions, alternative designs and the overall monitoring of the project.
The identified air quality models are
accepted by the Ministry of the Environment and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. Currently available
data will be used to validate the selected model. Subsequent stages of the EA Study will work through the details
such as the selection of the appropriate model. A separate meeting will be arranged for interested PCG members to
meet with the Study’s Air Quality subconsultant to review modeling details.
Additional Corridors:
Why
was the corridor to Navan eliminated in RTES?
The study area excludes Hunt Club Road
and as such precludes options other than rail.
The
Bayshore area and Carling/Richmond should be included.
Why is the former Canadian Pacific (Carleton Place Subdivision) to Stittsville, which is a city-owned facility, not being considered?
Every city that has light rail, started from the downtown core and expanded outward. Why did Ottawa adopt a different approach? Will this EA study preclude future connections to lines serving the downtown?
Response:
The corridor to Navan would have low ridership,
primarily as the number of people living along the route is significantly lower
than the Cumberland route through south Orleans. The location of the rail corridor in the Greenbelt would provide
poor service to the residents of Orleans since it would be difficult to access
the line and provide adequate facilities to passengers. The Cumberland EA study, which set the
alignment in Orleans area, was the basis for the approval of significant
development in the area. The
development is occurring rapidly and ridership on a line through this area
would be quite high. The EA study will not preclude future use of
the Navan corridor when warranted.
Hunt Club Road is a potential parallel arterial
road that will be considered in the EA.
The Study area has been expanded southerly to include Hunt Club Road.
RTES identified Carling Corridor as part of the
overall network that is required to serve developments in the Bayshore and
Carling/Richmond areas and provide connections to N-S LRT Corridor, E-W LRT
Corridor, West Transitway and Southwest Transitway. The Carling Avenue corridor will be the
subject of a separate, independent EA study.
This EA Study will consider Carling with respect to future connections
and station locations.
The line to Stittsville was reviewed. The population is significantly lower than
the areas of Kanata further north, and access to the rail corridor is more
limited than the route along Highway 417 or along March Road. While this line doesn’t warrant service over
the 20-year planning horizon, based on the City’s Official Plan growth
projection, it can be added as a branch line in the future should the
population and development in this area increase more than is anticipated. West of Stittsville, towards Carleton Place,
the line is outside of the City boundary.
The City’s focus is on containing growth, intensifying existing urban
areas and serving them with high quality transit service.
The implementation of rapid transit in Ottawa did
start with a downtown-focused solution.
Currently there are four rapid transit routes that converge on the
Central Area Transitway to the downtown.
The proposed North-South Line is a fifth project that would
extend the current O-Train line into downtown. The E-W line is the 6th
line in an already developed network and is meant to complement the existing
and future links by providing mobility across the urban area south of the
downtown. The overall network connectivity, including
connections to lines serving downtown, will be assessed as part of this Study.
It is not recommended that the study scope be expanded to include links that are not required within the planning horizon of the Official Plan. Extensions to Carp, Stittsville, and Navan can be examined at a future date when growth and ridership demand warrant their investigations.
It is also staff’s recommendation that the other rapid transit links identified in RTES, the TMP and OP (such as Carling, Rideau/Montreal and Hospital corridors) be undertaken as separate studies. Due to the high level of interest in the Carling and Rideau/Montreal corridors, staff recommends that the Statements of Work for the EA studies for these projects be developed as soon as possible. These are the only two remaining LRT corridors that have yet to be studied. In order to initiate the EAs, a pre-commitment of the 2006 budget in the order of $4M will be required.
The actual timing of implementation (design and construction) of any of these links, including the East-West corridor as defined, will be reviewed and reported back to Committee and Council for deliberation prior to making commitments on investments. An opportunity for this priority-setting review could coincide with the 5-year review of the OP and the TMP.
CONSULTATION
In
developing the ToR document, the study team consulted with the general public,
agencies and stakeholders. The ToR presented herein incorporates all relevant
feedback and comments received through the consultation process.
The first round of consultation meetings was
held on 16 November 2004 with the Agency Consultant Group and the Public
Consultation Group to present the draft ToR and solicit feedback.
Three Open Houses were held to present the
study and the draft ToR to the general public at the following places and
dates:
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School
(East) - 30 November 2004
Jim Durrell Centre, (Central) - 1
December 2004
John Mlacak Centre, (West) - 2
December 2004
Public notification of the study commencement
and the open houses appeared in the Citizen, the Sun, and Le Droit on 19 and 26
November 2004 and on the City’s website.
A total of 116 people attended the three open houses. Over 40 comment sheets were received.
MOE and CEA Agency representatives reviewed the
draft ToR and provided a coordinated response on 16 November 2004.
A second round of meetings with the consultation groups was held on 30 March 2005 to discuss all issues raised on the revised ToR at the Transportation Committee meeting on 16 February 2005. It should be noted that the study team created a new Business Consultation Group to augment the representation of business groups along this 47 km corridor. The Statement of Work had only representation from the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce.
The Consultation Summary Document is included
in the attached Terms of Reference (Document 4, Appendix B).
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The EA
studies for the Carling Corridor LRT and the Rideau/Montreal Corridor LRT are
identified in the Long Range Financial Plan and the 2006-2014 Capital Forecasts
for 2008 and 2013 respectively. In order to advance the studies to 2006, a
pre-commitment of $4 million in the 2006 Capital budget is requested. As this
amount exceeds the available envelopes for Rapid Transit EAs forecasted in
2006, project substitution will be identified to allow the studies to proceed.
SUPPORTING
DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 – RTES – Recommended Network
Document 2 – ORTEP – LRT and BRT Projects
Document 3 – ORTEP – Project Schedules
DISPOSITION
Upon approval of the Terms of Reference (ToR)
by Committee and Council, staff will prepare the ToR document for formal
submission to the Ministry of the Environment for approval. During the wait for Ministerial approval,
the Study Team will continue to gather data/information needed for the EA.
RTES – RECOMMENDED NETWORK Document 1
