Expansion of LRT maintenance plant upsets Eastway Gardens neighbours
Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: May 16, 2017 | Last Updated: May 16, 2017 9:14 PM EDT
Things are going from bad to worse on Avenue P, say some beleaguered residents.
The townhouses along this quiet street in Eastway Gardens back onto railway tracks used by Via passenger trains and a giant earthen berm built by the city’s light-rail contractor, Rideau Transit Group.
On the other side of the berm, which is taller than a two-storey house, is the Belfast Road plant where LRT trains are currently being assembled and where they will ultimately be maintained and stored overnight once the Confederation Line opens sometime next year.
Built to shield the neighbourhood from the noise of the LRT’s sprawling maintenance and storage facility, RTG now plans to tear out the berm and replace it with a wall as part of a $100-million expansion, which is coming far sooner than most people expected.
“I just feel like I’m going to be living in a compound for the rest of the time I’m here and I’m just so disheartened by learning that,” said MJ Beauchamp, who’s lived on Avenue P since 2001.
Added neighbour Deanna Derby: “For the rest of our lives or as long as we’re going to be here, this is what we’re going to be looking at, and what happens to our property value?”
The berm will be removed to make room for new maintenance bays and an expanded vehicle storage shed. RTG intends to continue assembling vehicles and complete most of Belfast expansion before the Confederation Line opens next year and the yard begins normal daily operations.
“Is it complicated? Yes. Are they capable of doing it? Absolutely. I have every confidence that they can deliver it,” said Chris Swail, the city’s rail-planning chief.
Belfast Yard was built to store the first fleet of Alstom Citadis LRT vehicles. But late last year, the city and RTG negotiated a new memorandum-of-understanding that provides a fixed price of $492 million for 38 additional vehicles, the plant expansion and on-board train control and communications equipment.
The deal saves the city money by using assets built for the Confederation Line, such as the Belfast Yard infrastructure, for the second phase of LRT expansion, Swail said. For example, the city previously paid $10 million each for vehicles, but the next 38, under this deal, will each cost $8.9 million.
“I can certainly understand that it does seem to be coming a little fast and furious for the residents. The work hasn’t been completed yet on that site and we’re already redesigning it, but that is really just a product of circumstance.”
Residents of avenues O and P first learned of RTG’s plan at a March 30 public meeting. Another public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday.
The element of surprise and what some interpret as secretiveness around the project is unnerving, said Stuart Fraser, who’s also lived on Avenue P since 2001.
“Truth be told, I think we were all surprised at how quickly Stage 2 was going to come about,” said Alta Vista Coun. Jean Cloutier, whose office organized both meetings.
Details about the wall — its proposed height, colour and ability to quell noise — have yet to be determined by RTG, even though construction is slated to begin this summer. “They’re still working on the design,” Swail said.
Measures must mitigate any noise and vibration caused by work at Belfast Yard, but they must also not make any of the existing noise related to Via trains any worse, he said (Beauchamp, Derby and Fraser all say the noise from passing trains currently reverberates off the berm and into their homes).
“The last thing we want RTG to do is to design any kind of noise attenuation that’s going to exacerbate the noise levels the residents are experiencing,” Swail said.
He couldn’t say how much the berm cost to build because RTG doesn’t tell the city how much individual elements of the overall $2.1-billion project cost.
Much of the $492 million agreed to in the new MOU will be spent on the 38 new LRT vehicles, but about $100 million will go to the Belfast Yard expansion, including the removal of the berm.
Although Mayor Jim Watson’s oft-repeated line about headaches caused by LRT construction are “short-term pain for long-term train,” the past few years have not been easy on Eastway Gardens.
Belfast Road was closed for construction for more than 18 months between Coventry Road and Trainyards Drive. There was heavy machinery, imposing fences and dust everywhere.
Bright lights installed by RTG shone into neighbouring homes at night.
And last summer, Via removed a swath of trees and shrubs along the rail line out of fear the overgrown bush was a threat to the safety of trains and passengers.
Residents say housing prices are down and the length of time houses are on the market is up.
RTG’s bright lights will soon come down as part of the Belfast Yard expansion. The city has been spinning that as a victory for residents, but they see it differently.
“I don’t see that as a win for us,” Beauchamp said. “I don’t see any of it as a win for us.”
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