Gatineau Mayoralty Race

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by jt-mtl

Oh god, I thought this person was gone from the Gatineau political scene. Her ideology has ruined the Plateau and Aylmer, look at all the traffic on Vanier and du Plateau. That is all from her ideology about a walkable environment with cars all lined up on a single lane road with no closeby amenities. And mind you, she was against commercial zones like Destination V and Agora.

The mess that is Le Plateau pre-dates her by about 20 years. I'm not familiar on her stance regarding Agora and Destination V, but AG has been trying to slow down development in Le Plateau precisely because of the traffic issues that will only be resolved (or at least mitigated) if/when the tramway is built and when Vanier will be widen.

[jt-mtl]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

The mess that is Le Plateau pre-dates her by about 20 years. I'm not familiar on her stance regarding Agora and Destination V, but AG has been trying to slow down development in Le Plateau precisely because of the traffic issues that will only be resolved (or at least mitigated) if/when the tramway is built and when Vanier will be widen.

I moved to the Plateau back in 2006 and everything was fine until the one stretch of Du Plateau that connect to Aylmer. A swath of homes with no commerical entities to support. And once destination V was to be approved, she voted against it. Here is the quote from Aylmer bulletin :

In a vote that divided council, Gatineau’s elected officials voted 10 to 8 to move forward with the Destination Vanier project near the intersection of des Allumettières and chemin Vanier. The project spans the land along Vanier between the current project and du Plateau Avenue.

This decision did not please Councillor Maude Marquis-Bissonnette, a member of Action Gatineau who voted against the proposal.

https://bulletinaylmer.com/the-desti...l-move-forward

[Horus]

Reading that article, it sounds as though the 2019 Action Gatineau bloc voted against Destination V because they felt it should be better thought out.

Destination V and the surrounding area is such a traffic nightmare right now that it's hard to really find fault with that AG position.

[rocketphish]

Seven candidates for Gatineau mayoral byelection on June 9
A second byelection will take place to elect a new councillor in the Carrefour-de-l'Hôpital ward, with four candidates.

Staff Reporter, Ottawa Citizen
Published May 10, 2024 • Last updated 2 hours ago • 1 minute read

There will be seven candidates on the ballot for the Gatineau mayoral byelection in June.

Submitting their candidacies by the deadline on Friday afternoon, according to an online post by the City of Gatineau, were Rémi Bergeron, Stéphane Bisson, Yves Ducharme, Daniel Feeny, Olive Kamanyana, Maude Marquis-Bissonnette and Mathieu St-Jean.

Election day is Sunday, June 9, although there will also be advance voting on June 2.

The winner will take the place of France Bélisle, the Outaouais city’s first female mayor, who resigned in February. Councillor Daniel Champagne is serving as interim mayor.

Elected in 2021, Bélisle told a news conference she was stepping down to preserve her health, adding she had received death threats after becoming mayor.

Ducharme previously served as Gatineau mayor in 2002-05 and before municipal amalgamation was mayor of Hull in 1992-2001.

Kamanyana resigned as councillor of the Carrefour-de-l’Hôpital district to run for mayor.

A byelection for a new councillor for that ward will also be held June 9. The list of declared candidates includes Frédérick Castonguay, Catharine Craig-St-Louis, Marie-Pier Lacroix and Kethlande Pierre.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...tion-on-june-9

[J.OT13]

Maude Marquis-Bissonnette ahead with 38% support, with Yves Ducharme a distant second at 27%.

She's been in that position before though.

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle...airie-gatineau

[jt-mtl]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Maude Marquis-Bissonnette ahead with 38% support, with Yves Ducharme a distant second at 27%.

She's been in that position before though.

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle...airie-gatineau

Ouffff...there is too many candidates which will split the vote. And she wants to spend taxpayer dollars on a Tramway that leads to nowhere.

It will be bad news if she gets in

[harls]

Originally Posted by jt-mtl

Ouffff...there is too many candidates which will split the vote. And she wants to spend taxpayer dollars on a Tramway that leads to nowhere.

It will be bad news if she gets in

As opposed to the old mayor Ducharme, or that other guy that has his real estate ads next to his mayoral posters?

[ogbenp]

Originally Posted by jt-mtl

Ouffff...there is too many candidates which will split the vote. And she wants to spend taxpayer dollars on a Tramway that leads to nowhere.

It will be bad news if she gets in

Source for her perspective on the tramway? Curious what this post refers to

[CanadaGoose]

Originally Posted by ogbenp

Source for her perspective on the tramway? Curious what this post refers to

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/fiches/9...-gatineau-2024

There are some opinions about the tramway.

[Uhuniau]

I know most municipal candidates are clueless about transit, but that's possibly the most clueless collection of candidates in one race I've ever seen.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by jt-mtl

Ouffff...there is too many candidates which will split the vote. And she wants to spend taxpayer dollars on a Tramway that leads to nowhere.

It will be bad news if she gets in

You complain about the traffic in Le Plateau, but then say that it's a tramway to nowhere.

AG wants to pause development in the Plateau area because the existing transportation infra can't support the volumes, and the tramway is the solution.

The tramway serves the dense areas of Aylmer (also a cutural and entertainment desingaiton) and Le Plateau, UQO, intersects with the Rapibus and CWC Bridge, and serves the Downtowns of Hull and Ottawa. Not sure how anyone can say it's a tramway to nowhere.

[DTcrawler]

If the tramway were built it might actually entice me to visit destinations in Gatineau. Right now the only time I spend in the city is passing through to reach destinations in Chelsea and beyond, apart from the odd stop in Hull or Lac Leamy.

[Acajack]

Maude Marquis-Bissonnette is actually a rare candidate who has extensive post-secondary training in urban planning and municipal governance.

Of course she's going to be in favour of the tramway and of smarter and more sustainable growth decisions.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by DTcrawler

If the tramway were built it might actually entice me to visit destinations in Gatineau. Right now the only time I spend in the city is passing through to reach destinations in Chelsea and beyond, apart from the odd stop in Hull or Lac Leamy.

I will give STO some credit, it is a LOT easier to transport yourself from Ottawa to Gatineau and back again than it used to be, and I'm not sure how many even long-time OC Transpo riders know that it's changed for the better.

Fair integration, routes (more direct), weekend and evening service (somewhat to significantly better than it used to be), real-time info, RapiBus, have all added up.

[DTcrawler]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

I will give STO some credit, it is a LOT easier to transport yourself from Ottawa to Gatineau and back again than it used to be, and I'm not sure how many even long-time OC Transpo riders know that it's changed for the better.

Fair integration, routes (more direct), weekend and evening service (somewhat to significantly better than it used to be), real-time info, RapiBus, have all added up.

Don't disagree at all, there's just something different about a train over a bus. When I lived in Montreal, if a destination my friends and I were heading to was accessible by metro, it was a no-brainer. If we had to take a bus, we usually ended up in a cab (this was pre-uber). Same here in Ottawa - personally as a transit nerd I'm pretty 1:1 in terms of bus to train usage but if I'm going anywhere with my friends or family, transit is out of the question unless it's the O-Train.

My guess is that a lot of it has to do with scheduling/reliability. Without checking a schedule it's usually a safe bet a train is arriving in a few min. The other is routing - it's harder to get lost on a train that runs on fixed rails vs. getting on a bus and wondering if it's about to make an unexpected turn leaving you unsure if it's a detour, special route variant, short-turn, etc. Of course, these are minor things and easily solved by doing a minimal about of research before travelling, but most people don't want to do that.

I guess that's why experts always talk about revitalization happening along tramways, thanks to induced demand. Shockingly, despite all my years riding transit in Ottawa, I've never once stepped foot on an STO bus.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by DTcrawler

Don't disagree at all, there's just something different about a train over a bus. When I lived in Montreal, if a destination my friends and I were heading to was accessible by metro, it was a no-brainer. If we had to take a bus, we usually ended up in a cab (this was pre-uber). Same here in Ottawa - personally as a transit nerd I'm pretty 1:1 in terms of bus to train usage but if I'm going anywhere with my friends or family, transit is out of the question unless it's the O-Train.

My guess is that a lot of it has to do with scheduling/reliability. Without checking a schedule it's usually a safe bet a train is arriving in a few min. The other is routing - it's harder to get lost on a train that runs on fixed rails vs. getting on a bus and wondering if it's about to make an unexpected turn leaving you unsure if it's a detour, special route variant, short-turn, etc. Of course, these are minor things and easily solved by doing a minimal about of research before travelling, but most people don't want to do that.

I guess that's why experts always talk about revitalization happening along tramways, thanks to induced demand. Shockingly, despite all my years riding transit in Ottawa, I've never once stepped foot on an STO bus.

Well said.

I'm fortunate enough to live within a 20 walk to the train. I never take the bus unless I really have to, for example if I have to pick up my car at the mechanics after work. It's kind of a stressful process, checking the map, trying to figure out which buses go near your desitnation, then checking the bus arrival screen, trying to remember which buses work. Rail is far superior in every way, even with a good bus frequency (which isn't something we have outside the Transitway and I assume Rapibus).

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by DTcrawler

My guess is that a lot of it has to do with scheduling/reliability. Without checking a schedule it's usually a safe bet a train is arriving in a few min. The other is routing - it's harder to get lost on a train that runs on fixed rails vs. getting on a bus and wondering if it's about to make an unexpected turn leaving you unsure if it's a detour, special route variant, short-turn, etc. Of course, these are minor things and easily solved by doing a minimal about of research before travelling, but most people don't want to do that.

Also easily solved by transit authorities that have a rider-centred way of doing their communications, which... almost none of them ever seem to, at least not in this country!

I guess that's why experts always talk about revitalization happening along tramways, thanks to induced demand. Shockingly, despite all my years riding transit in Ottawa, I've never once stepped foot on an STO bus.

You should fix that! For science! It does extend your reach as a human person quite nicely.

[jt-mtl]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

You complain about the traffic in Le Plateau, but then say that it's a tramway to nowhere.

AG wants to pause development in the Plateau area because the existing transportation infra can't support the volumes, and the tramway is the solution.

The tramway serves the dense areas of Aylmer (also a cutural and entertainment desingaiton) and Le Plateau, UQO, intersects with the Rapibus and CWC Bridge, and serves the Downtowns of Hull and Ottawa. Not sure how anyone can say it's a tramway to nowhere.

Tramway is not the solution, they need to invest in roads. Unfortunately, the car/driver is seen as an enemy to candidates like Maude and I would not be surprised if she raises the renewal fees on driver licenses.

- They need to expand Vanier to 4 lanes from Pink to ch. Aylmer to get all that traffic moving and all the multi dwelling building bieing built on and off Vanier
- They need to get the Katimavik exit ramp off Alumetieres built. It's been 10 plus years waiting for that exit.

[jt-mtl]

Originally Posted by ogbenp

Source for her perspective on the tramway? Curious what this post refers to

Here is the article about the support of the tramway:

https://www.ledroit.com/actualites/a...A7PEYT4EHQYXQ/

if you translate to english, this quote appears:

Depending on the candidate speaking about the project, the cost varies from $3.5 billion to $15 billion. For the head of Action Gatineau, Maude Marquis-Bissonnette, it is the only viable project that can effectively relieve congestion in the west. For Mr. Feeny, the former communications director of France Bélisle, the project is more of a dream disconnected from the needs and ability of taxpayers to pay.

The west is very family orientated. Does she think we will all of a sudden abandon our minivans and SUVs and take the tramway to Costco?

[Kelnoz]

Originally Posted by jt-mtl

The west is very family orientated. Does she think we will all of a sudden abandon our minivans and SUVs and take the tramway to Costco?

Right, the pileup at rush hour on Allumettières is all minivans full of groceries