Council going into a $4.6B LRT decision not knowing when its $2.1B decision will bear fruit
Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: March 4, 2019
City council is under financial and political pressure this week to approve $4.6 billion more in LRT spending while not knowing if a $2.1-billion investment of government money will produce a decent transit system.
The city didn’t want to be in this position, asking council to ink Stage 2 deals to expand the rail network without having Stage 1 up and running.
But it’s going to happen Wednesday, and councillors have to decide if they have enough faith in much of the current LRT infrastructure to commit taxpayers for decades. It won’t be a unanimous vote.
Some councillors told this newspaper on Monday that they want to go full-steam ahead. Others still have questions. At least one will oppose awarding Stage 2 contracts.
Council members on Tuesday will first receive an update on what’s happening with Stage 1 LRT being constructed by Rideau Transit Group. The meeting of the finance and economic development committee on will likely confirm that RTG will miss a third handover deadline, the current one being March 31.
The focus since the beginning of the year has been on the 34 Alstom Citadis Spirit trains. They have been in various stages of completion, and at last check, nowhere near being a full fleet of operational vehicles. The winter capabilities of the trains have also been called into question, most recently in a CBC Ottawa story citing an internal report.
The city has a deal with RTG to acquire 38 additional Alstom trains at $8.9 million each as part of the Stage 2 expansion.
The Stage 2 project would become the largest infrastructure endeavour in the city’s history. The $4.6-billion project — $1.2 billion more than estimated before the bids came in — would extend the Confederation Line LRT to Trim Road, Algonquin College and Moodie Drive, while extending the Trillium Line to Limebank Road and the Ottawa International Airport. The LRT expansion would be constructed by Kiewit and Vinci, and the Trillium Line expansion would be constructed by SNC-Lavalin.
What makes the decision on Stage 2 particularly difficult for councillors is that Stage 1 between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair Station isn’t much of a transit line on its own. It’s only worth the city’s investment if it continues to extend the tracks.
For Mayor Jim Watson, moving forward with Stage 2 has become an either-or argument: either pay to build now or pay more later, and either get LRT closer to Barrhaven and Kanata now or wait for who knows how much longer.
The vibe around city hall is that there are more councillors who want to plow through with the Stage 2 vision than want to pause the city’s dream of LRT expansion.
This newspaper on Monday contacted all of the current 22 ward councillors (Rideau-Rockcliffe ward will get a new councillor in April after a byelection) to gauge their confidence levels in approving Stage 2 when there are still questions about the operations of Stage 1. Nine councillors responded.
“This is a huge vote of confidence in our future as a city of one million that is booming,” Barrhaven Coun. Jan Harder said. “I intend to cast my vote to continue building our city. Stage 2 to Baseline (at Algonquin College) means LRT to Barrhaven.”
Kanata South Coun. Allan Hubley said he doesn’t think the snow on the LRT line will be a serous issue because, if necessary, trains will run a regular schedule overnight to keep the tracks clear.
“I don’t like that we are in this spot due to RTG delays but I also know the cost to delay is more than the risk associated to moving ahead,” Hubley said. “I also realize how close we are to launch and have confidence in their ability to overcome the remaining challenges quickly.”
Orléans Coun. Matthew Luloff said he has concerns about timelines, winter operations, accessibility and park-and-ride capacity, but the city needs Stage 2 “and I want it done right.”
“We can’t put this cat back in the bag,” Luloff said. “I have a responsibility to get LRT to Trim and I take that responsibility very seriously.”
In supporting Stage 2, Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Keith Egli brought up the 2006 council decision to cancel the north-south LRT contract, resulting in costly court settlements with the contracted builders.
“The costs and delay of not proceeding are very significant,” Egli said. “We have had a previous council turn down an LRT proposal at significant cost to the taxpayer. I do not want to be part of a second one making the same mistake.”
Some councillors want more assurances from city staff before voting on Stage 2.
Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury said LRT will modernize the city’s transit system, and while Stage 1 has been delayed, residents have yet to experience the “upside” of the rail line.
“Many questions remain,” Fleury said. “I believe some will be answered tomorrow at (the finance committee meeting), and I will certainly have some questions of my own at council this Wednesday.”
River Coun. Riley Brockington admitted to some anxiety approving a multibillion-dollar city-transforming project, but said he likes the Stage 2 plan and understands the reasons for the new price.
“However, when you throw into the mix the fact that LRT Phase 1 has not yet opened, there is no real true sense of how well LRT Phase 1 works, the murkiness of SNC-Lavalin and questions start piling up,” Brockington said. “Every councillor should be in attendance tomorrow at (the finance committee meeting) and there should be no outstanding questions come Wednesday before a vote is taken.”
On the other side of the council divide, Capital Coun. Shawn Menard said he won’t vote for the Stage 2 contracts.
“Too rushed and very little accountability and transparency in this process,” Menard said. “We need a pause to consider all of the risks this presents for residents of Ottawa.”
“I do not have the information I require to make an informed and sound decision on Stage 2 at this time,” Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney said, noting the “alarming” revelations that have been reported about how the trains operate in the winter.
There’s also appetite for giving council more time before making such a major decision, especially since the recommendations for the Stage 2 contracts and the ultimate design were only released Feb. 22.
“I absolutely want light rail, but I would like to see council have a few more days to ask questions so we can make the most informed decision,” Gloucester-South Nepean Coun. Carol Anne Meehan said. “Given what is happening with Phase 1, I and other councillors should be allowed to ask the question, ‘Why should we believe what we are being told?’”
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