The Project
The City of Ottawa has completed an Environmental Project Report for a Baseline Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) facility between Bayshore Station and Heron Station, in accordance with Ontario Regulation 231/08.
The corridor follows an alignment which includes Holly Acres Road, Richmond Road, Baseline Road, and Heron Road (Figure 1). Near the Baseline Station area, it travels via Constellation Drive, Navaho Drive, College Avenue and Woodroffe Avenue to link the Centrepointe community and Algonquin College campus. The project proposes dedicated bus-only lanes (generally in the median), 25 new transit stations and new pedestrian and cycling facilities along the length of the 14-km corridor. The project will incorporate all elements of a complete street while also maintaining the function of the road as an Arterial Road.
This project is part of the Rapid Transit and Transit Priority Network identified in the City’s Transportation Master Plan (TMP) 2013 and connects to other existing and planned rapid transit corridors, including the West Transitway, the Confederation Line, the Southwest Transitway, the Trillium Line, and Southeast Transitway. The project will accommodate the anticipated growth in transit ridership as contemplated in the TMP and support the growth management policies identified in the City’s Official Plan (OP).
The Process
The environmental impact of this transit project was assessed and documented in an Environmental Project Report prepared according to the Transit Project Assessment Process as prescribed in Ontario Regulation 231/08, Transit Projects and Greater Toronto Transportation Authority Undertakings.
The Environmental Project Report documents the entire study process, including a description of the planned project, its anticipated environmental impacts, and the project’s consultation program.
The Final Environmental Project Report for the Baseline Road Bus Rapid Transit Corridor is now available for a 30-day public review period starting July 13, 2017. Please note that the Draft EPR has been available for public review during the Notice of Commencement phase, which began on May 18, 2017. The final EPR is available at the locations noted below during their regular business hours.
Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change
Environmental Approvals Branch
135 St. Clair Avenue West, 1st Floor,Toronto, ON, M4V 1P5
Ottawa District Office2430 Don Reid Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1H 1E1
City of Ottawa Public Library Branches
Main Branch
120 Metcalfe Street
Ottawa, ON, K1P 5M2
Centrepointe Library (Nepean)
101 Centrepointe Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K2G 5K7
Emerald Plaza
1547 Merivale Road
Ottawa, Ontario K2G 4V3
Interested persons are encouraged to review this document and provide comments by Monday, August 14, 2017 to the project contacts listed below.
There are circumstances where the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change has the authority to require further consideration of the transit project, or impose conditions on it. The Minister may require further consideration or impose conditions if the Minister is of the opinion that:
- the transit project may have a negative impact on a matter of provincial importance that relates to the natural environment or has cultural heritage value or interest; or,
- the transit project may have a negative impact on a constitutionally protected Aboriginal or treaty right.
Before exercising the authority referred to above, the Minister is required to consider any written objections to the transit project that the Minister may receive within 30 days after the Notice of Completion of the Environmental Project Report is first published.
If you have discussed your issues with the proponent and you object to the project, you can provide a written submission to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change no later than Monday, August 14, 2017 to the address provided below. All submissions must clearly indicate that an objection is being submitted and describe any negative impacts to matters of provincial importance (natural/cultural environment) or Aboriginal rights.
Attn: Yves Dagssie, Special Project Officer
Environmental Approvals Branch
Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change
135 St. Clair Avenue West, 1st Floor, Toronto ON M4V 1P5
General Inquiry: 416-314-8001Toll Free: 800-461-6290 Fax: 416-314-8452
E-mail: EAABGen@ontario.ca
If not otherwise provided, a copy of the objection will be forwarded to the proponent by the ministry.
For further information on the proposed transit project or if you have any accessibility requirements in order to participate in this project, please contact the Project Manager, Jabbar Siddique, at the following coordinates:
Jabbar Siddique, P.Eng. Senior Project Engineer
Transportation Env. Assessments Branch, Transportation Planning,
Transportation Services Department
City of Ottawa110 Laurier Avenue West, 4th Floor
Ottawa ON K1P 1J1
Tel: 613-580-2424 ext. 13914
Fax: 613-580-2578
E-mail: Jabbar.Siddique@Ottawa.ca
Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA), personal information included in a submission to the City of Ottawa will not be disclosed to any third parties without having obtained the prior consent of the person to whom the information pertains, except when MFIPPA permits disclosure or other applicable law requires that the City disclose the personal information. All personal information included in a submission – such as name, address, telephone number and property location – is collected, maintained and disclosed by the Ministry of the Environment for the purpose of transparency and consultation. The information is collected under the authority of the Environment Assessment Act or is collected and maintained for the purpose of creating a record that is available to the general public as described in s.37 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Personal information you submit will become part of a public record that is available to the general public unless you request that your personal information remain confidential. For more information please contact the project officer or the Information, Privacy and Archives Division of Ministry of Government Services at 416-327-1600.
Notice first published on July 13, 2017.