1. Browning Corridor:
Removal From Consideration As Future Transit Corridor
Couloir De L'avenue Browning : Option Retirée Des Endroits À
L’étude Pour L’aménagement Futur Du Couloir De Transport En Commun |
committee recommendation
That Council receive this report for information.
Recommandation du comité
Documentation
1. Deputy
City Manager Report, Infrastructure Services and Community
Sustainability dated 7 October 2009 (ACS2009-ICS-PGM-0200).
Report to/Rapport au :
Comité du transport en commun
and Council / et au Conseil
7 October 2009 / le 7 octobre
2009
Submitted by/Soumis par : Nancy
Schepers, Deputy City Manager/Directrice municipale adjointe,
Infrastructure
Services and Community Sustainability/Services d’infrastructure et Viabilité
des collectivités
Contact Person/Personne ressource : Vivi Chi, Manager/Gestionnaire, Transportation
Planning/Plannification des transports, Transportation Environmental
Assessment/Urbanisme et Gestion de la croissance
(613) 580-2424 x
21877, vivi.chi@ottawa.ca
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Transit Committee and Council receive this report for information.
RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT
BACKGROUND
In 2006, the Ontario Municipal Board heard an appeal of the City of Ottawa’s 2003 Official Plan (OP) related to Schedule D. Specifically the issue was about the City’s inclusion of a section of the rapid transit network in the vicinity of Browning Avenue (near the Hospital Lands). At the time, the precise alignment of the Browning Corridor was not defined since a detailed environmental assessment had yet to be undertaken. The Board reserved its decision for that portion of the corridor located “… from Russell Road to the westerly extension of Browning Avenue until such time as an Environmental Assessment (EA) has been completed with respect to this component of the Rapid Transit Corridor.” On 30 November 2006, the Ontario Municipal Board issued a decision and ordered that an environmental assessment be conducted and completed by no later than 31 December 2009. The decision also stated that if the EA is not completed as of this date the designation of the Browning corridor as a “Future Rapid Transit Corridor-Alignment” would be deleted from the Official Plan.
Since the Board decision in 2006, the City undertook an update of its Transportation Master Plan (TMP) in 2008 and OP in 2009. The Browning Corridor was still identified as a future transit link connecting the Southeast Transitway with other future transit corridors to the east. A Planning and Environmental Assessment study to address the Browning Corridor issue was initiated following Council’s approval of the updated TMP. Transit Committee approved the Statement of Work for this study on 27 June 2007.
Since the Environmental Assessment Act prohibits piece-mealing of projects, the study scope was expanded to include not just the Browning Corridor but also the section of rapid transit from Browning to Navan Road (western limit of the Cumberland Transitway) and the connection to Blair Station. The added sections were part of the previous East-West Environmental Assessment Study that had been put on hold and which Council directed staff to resume following the completion of the 2008 TMP (24 July, 2007). This broader scoped study is known as the Hospital Link/Cumberland Transitway Connection - Planning and Environmental Assessment Study.
Also since the decision of the Board, there was a change in the Environmental Assessment Act for transit projects (Regulation 231/08), which requires the environmental assessment to be completed within six months. This regulation, however, assumes that all planning work (alignment identification, functional planning, etc.) has been completed and that major issues are fully addressed prior to the start of the environmental assessment. That is not the case for this project since corridors and alignments still need to be defined.
The
Hospital Link/Cumberland Transitway Connection study (the Planning component)
is now well underway. Consultation is
taking place, with more to come, and the findings of the Planning effort will
be reported to Committee and Council in February 2010 prior to the start of the
Environmental Assessment portion of the Study.
The
purpose of this report is to advise Transit Committee and Council of the
findings to date concerning the need for the Browning Corridor within the
context of the overall project and addressing the Board’s order of 2006.
DISCUSSION
As
part of the process for the Hospital Link/Cumberland Transitway Connection
Study, numerous transit corridor options were identified and assessed. In the area between Hurdman Station and St.
Laurent Boulevard, there were four major corridor options (see Figure 1),
including the corridor near Browning Avenue.
The other corridors were identified along Industrial Avenue, Terminal
Avenue and a link to the Hospital Lands from Riverside Drive and Smyth Road.
Through
the assessment of ridership projections, land use considerations, social impact
assessment and high-level costing comparison, it was deemed that the Browning
Corridor was the least favourable alternative.
As a result, the Browning Corridor is not being carried forward for
further consideration. This finding is
strongly supported by the study’s Public Consultation Group and the Ward
Councillor.
Option
1.1: Hydro Corridor – Hospital Spur only
Option
1.2: Hydro Corridor – Hospital and Browning Corridor
Option
1.3: Industrial Avenue and Hospital Spur
Option
1.4: Terminal Ave., Rail Corridor, Industrial Ave, and Hospital Spur
The
Study will continue with the assessment of the remaining three corridors in the
Hospital Lands area, as well as the other sections to the east (to Blair
Station, to Cumberland Transitway). As a
result of the deadline imposed by the Ontario Municipal Board, the corridor
will automatically be deleted from the Official Plan at the end of the year.
CONSULTATION
The study is ongoing and includes a comprehensive consultation program. The public and agencies are aware of the findings relating to the Browning Corridor.
LEGAL/RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
Due to the nature of the decision of the Board, the Browning Corridor will be deleted from the Official Plan at the end of the year if the environmental assessment is not completed. Should it be desired to allow for the continuation of the corridor, it would be necessary for Council to direct the City Clerk and Solicitor to seek an extension of the deadline from the Board.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
N/A
DISPOSITION
Staff in the Planning and Growth Management Department will continue with the Hospital Link/Cumberland Transitway Connection Planning and Environmental Assessment Study. A report on the alignment recommendation will be presented to Transit Committee and Council in February 2010, which will also mark the start of the Environmental Assessment portion of this study.
Since the environmental assessment will not be completed by 31 December 2009, the OMB decision provides that the Browning Corridor comes out of the Official Plan automatically, and therefore an Official Plan Amendment will not be required to implement that OMB decision. Planning and Growth Management staff will remove reference to the Browning Corridor from the Official Plan after that date.