OTTAWA EAST - Some confusion over interpretation of a letter from the National Capital Commission about the interprovincial bridge has left east-end residents scratching their heads.
Liberal MPP Madeleine Meilleur has been touting her victory of getting the NCC to confirm it will look at other possible locations for the future crossing.
That would be a boon for area residents, who have long argued that the scope of the study is too narrow and that new locations should be considered.
But the NCC confirmed that no such promise was made.
“The crossing corridors, themselves, remain unchanged,” NCC spokesperson Mario Tremblay said in a statement.
The confusion arises from one complex statement in the letter from the NCC’s director of federal transportation co-ordination , Fred Gaspar.
The letter to Meilleur dated June 1 states: “…the study design report specifically allows for the application of mitigation measures beyond the boundaries of the site study areas.”
The letter goes on to state: “The intent from this passage is clear. It recognizes that mitigation measures serve to address adverse impacts arising from the project and, as such, they may not always be able to be accommodated within the same geographic area as the project itself.”
All of that is to say the NCC might put up noise barriers even if they must be located outside of the study-area boundary – but a new location for the bridge is off the table.
“We were asked if mitigation measures could be applied outside the study areas and we responded that – yes – that was possible,” Tremblay stated. “Mitigation measures are features like noise walls, designed to minimize adverse impacts from the bridge.”
“English is not my maternal language, but to me, ‘beyond,’ means it is outside (options) 5, 6, 7,” Meilleur said, referring to the three location options that are being considered: Kettle Island, Lower Duck Island and Gatineau Airport/McLaurin Bay.
Meilleur said Gaspar told her that “mitigation measures” refers to what would happen in the case that none of the three preferred options were deemed acceptable.
“The way I read it is that … if there is no one preferred route in (options) 5, 6 and 7 … and there would be a better route, that they can look at it also,” Meilleur said.
John Forsey, past chair of Manor Park Community Association’s bridge committee, didn’t share Meilleur’s enthusiasm over the confusing letter.
He was present at a May 20 meeting with Meilleur and the NCC to discuss the MPP’s request, and he came away with a different interpretation.
“My recollection was that the NCC would consider changes in the route, which is different than saying they’d look at a new route 10 kilometres away,” he said. “I don’t think there has been a whole lot of movement from the NCC on this issue.”
Forsey said there is a lot of confusion among residents because the bridge issue is a complex one, made all the more confusing by different interpretations of this most recent development.
But Meilleur insisted it is “absolutely realistic” for the NCC to pursue a new location for the interprovincial crossing at this stage.
“I think a good start is that they actually put that in writing in a letter to me,” Meilleur said.
“With Kettle Island, you move the problem from one community to another community,” Meilleur said.
The ideal solution would be to find a route that wouldn’t impact a surrounding established community, she said.
Meilleur said she doesn’t prefer any of the three options that are currently being put to the public, and that there may be another potential location farther east.
“I don’t have any specific (location), but I know there are routes farther east that can be accommodated on the Quebec side and on the Ontario side,” Meilleur said.
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