In an exclusive interview today, municipal candidate Rebecca Bromwich who is seeking to dethrone Capital Ward incumbent Shawn Menard in Ottawa’s upcoming municipal elections says “Lansdowne 2.0 is amplifying Bank Street O-Train discussions” and believes a “robust transit system would benefit Capital Ward.” Candidate Bromwich says “we need a real plan to deal with the growing densification and traffic congestion in Capital Ward and O-Train can be part of the solution.”
Rebecca is a known community advocate, someone who is respected at Carleton University and throughout most of the city. She has a voice as a community leader and is not afraid to tell you what she is hearing and what people are talking about in the city.
The Ottawa Gatineau population has surpassed 1.4 million. What does it mean for O-Train LRT expansion? The city is on pace to hit 1.6 million within 10 years.
Candidate Bromwich says the “Bank Street O-Train line is an ongoing and important discussion since 2020 in Capital Ward.”
Candidate Bromwich is currently “developing a platform with the appropriate community stakeholders” and she’s says “that’s the way things should be done, through consultation.”
She believes “we need to think like the great cities of the world, we are the capital of Canada and we should act like it when it comes to our transit plans.”
Bromwich is not sure what length the proposed Bank Street O-Train route should be and believes the community should have a say in where the O-Train stations are located saying “we need to better understand the route and how it will be developed.”
Candidate Bromwich believes “a Bank Street O-Train line can be part of a future that strengthens the private sector & public sector benefiting the Bank Street communities.” Bromwich also believes a Bank Street O-Train line could help complete Confederation Line 1 and Trillium Line 2 saying “it could be part of a public rail network that benefits all of Ottawa and our existing transit system.”
There appears to be a growing consensus in the Bank Street communities around the issue of Bank Street O-Train, Capital Ward incumbent Shawn Menard in a previous story said “we need an alternative form of efficient transportation along Bank Street in the core. It (the Bank Street O-Train Tunnel) would improve the congestion that can occur, emissions, and local economic development.”
Local Ottawa MPP Joel Harden in a previous story said “debate on Bank Street O-Train Needs to Continue” and “if the city is going to have an electric Bank Street O-Train Tunnel” MPP Harden wants “to see it done in a proper and accountable way.”
President of the Belltown Community Association former Ottawa area MPP Alex Cullen said in a previous story “Bank Street is a natural busy retail area that is a long street and a major artery for the city. It’s a natural layout for the Bank Street O-Train Tunnel.” Alex says “the city always takes the path of least resistance when it comes to development. The next phases should be Bank Street and Montreal Road.”
When asked about a recent poll showing overwhelming support for some kind of Bank Street O-Train line, candidate Bromwich says “it is important to take this poll into consideration alongside other factors. It matters what people want, and we need to work collaboratively with business, governments and all other stakeholders to not just meet our city’s current needs but also build infrastructure that anticipates and imagines future greatness.”
Clinton P. Desveaux is an accredited writer and contributor for Troy Media Newspapers & Magazines, Medium, The Hill Times, The Centretown Buzz. For additional stories on Bank Street O-Train see links below: