Coucillor asks for NCC to start over.
Beacon-Hill-Cyrville Coun.Tim Tierney said this round of interprovincial bridge consultations are questionable. Despite the consultations pitting community against community, Tierney felt the most important thing is for the consultation process to be fair and honest.
file photo
The first round of public consultations are already in progress for the interprovincial bridge environmental assessment study and the public is ready to respond, despite the short notice.
“We were given less than a week’s notice, I think all the communities were a little surprised at that,” Rockcliffe Park resident Kathy Day said about the meetings taking place.
The assessment study will help determine the best place for the bridge, which will add another link from Quebec to Ontario and help re-route trucks from the downtown core. The bid for Phase 2B was awarded to the same consulting firm, Roche-Genivar who led the previous Phase 1 and Phase 2A consultations However, this first round of consultations have not given the public, who are already wary of the way in which the study is being handled, any more comfort.
Day attended the first meeting that was held on June 7 by Steve Taylor, the company’s lead consultant for Phase 2B of the study, which was commissioned by the National Capital Commission.
Taylor said the consultations are taking people’s concerns seriously and the firm is going above and beyond what has been done in the previous two study consultations.
“It has literally been thousands of people we have contacted directly for these consultations,” Taylor said.
The residents who were informed of this latest batch of meetings were those who had been previously involved with the other two phases. Taylor said flyers were given out to houses that could be directly affected by the bridge. Day said that at the meeting of over 40 people, when Taylor asked who had come because of the flyers, two hands were raised.
Those who were not invited, but found out by a third party included Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney and Innes Coun. Rainer Bloess.
“If I was the NCC, message to the NCC is hit the reset button and open your ears. That is the truth of the matter, people want to take part in the process but you are not giving them the opportunity. So if you have already made the decision, don’t waste people’s time,” Tierney said.
He added that the meeting mostly focused on questions about the lack of information being given out.
“There was a lot of really clear feedback. Questions like why are you conducting something so quickly, why are you doing it in, let’s face it in the peak of the summer, when the holidays are upon us and expect it to wrapped up on certain levels within the first few weeks,” Tierney added.
Day agreed that the process so far has yet to put her trust in the study.
“I think as long as the process is transparent, people would be able to live with the results,” Day added. “But trust? Only time will tell if we can trust this study or the consultants.”
The next set of consultations began on Saturday, June 11 and Day said the residents at the meeting had to force the information out of Taylor at the June 7 meeting. Both Taylor and NCC spokesperson Mario Tremblay claimed the information was available on the www.ncrcrossings.ca website, however, prior to speaking with Taylor on June 8 no consultation information could be found on the website.
Taylor said they will also be putting together some do-it-yourself kits residents can fill out as well as arranging for meetings with community associations. They will also be engaging with the truck community to find out what they feel is the best answer. For Day, she said it is important they engage with the trucks, but wonders when those meetings will take place and whether the communities will be able to participate.
Taylor said he believes the consultation process itself will create trust in the community and likened any results of the study to a series of dominos.
“A long series of dominos, the study starts with the initial contact in the area of concern, looking at the environment, the design, comparison of the alternatives; every stage the public has a chance to make comments on that particular stage of the study and as you move along, more and more dominos fall and you get to more and more specific details,” Taylor said.
Tierney is not convinced.
“Last time it was a real dog’s breakfast and this time it isn’t looking any better, so if you are benchmarking based on the previous experience of people, you haven’t set the bar too high.” Tierney said.
For more information on the consultations taking place, visit the Public Consultation page of the study website, www.ncrcrossings.ca for registration information, meeting dates and times and for notification on any consultation activities.
Ottawa this Week - East Edition
michelle.nash@metroland.com