http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com...1822589499.php
Hunt Club extension stalls
By Ottawa Business Journal Staff
Tue, Mar 10, 2009 2:00 PM EST
Innes Ward Coun. Rainer Bloess (file photo)
Work on the proposed Hunt Club Extension may not get rolling for a while yet, as questions continue about what funding roles the municipal and provincial governments should play.
The roadwork project came to the forefront again last month, when inquiries from Innes Coun. Rainer Bloess and Cumberland Coun. Rob Jellett in a corporate services and economic development committee meeting prompted city staff to explain it "was not on the current list" because the city had been unable to secure provincial funds for design work and could not qualify due to requirements that substantial work be completed by 2010.
The issue arose, recounts Coun. Bloess, when committee turned to the topic of submitting projects for infrastructure funding. Though the city had already dedicated a portion of funding for the extension's design work – $2 million of the $4 million required – it was subject to other levels of government following through with financial support as well, he explains.
"It can't all be done because there's not enough money for it," Coun. Bloess adds.
Without the initiative being "shovel-ready," it can't qualify for the infrastructure cash, he continues.
"The province always indicated ... they were prepared to come on board" since the roadwork would connect with Highway 417, Coun. Bloess says; the Ontario government was just waiting for the city's lead to move forward with the project. "They said it a few times in the past. The commitment had always been there."
Coun. Bloess explains councillors are currently awaiting a meeting with Ottawa-Orleans MPP Phil McNeely to determine the project's status. Trying to get the Hunt Club Extension – a part of the city's transportation master plan and a definite municipal priority – into a city budget as soon as possible is the aim, he adds.
But Mr. McNeely says the province "has not received any official requests for funding" in regards to the Hunt Club Extension, adding that the city needs to sit down with the provincial government to devise a cost-sharing plan.
"It's going to help commuters a lot, but also the (Ministry of Transportation)," he continues, pointing to the benefits for both levels of government. "We've always been pushing the project."
The previously completed environment assessment for the roadwork was undertaken with one-third of funding from the province and the rest from the city, Mr. McNeely recounts, noting the city-driven study took four years to complete.
He adds the extension has also been pushed back in the municipal transportation master plan, but was quickly passed by the provincial environment minister.
"We have not held this up at all," Mr. McNeely says.
As a primarily municipal project, the city should move ahead with design work in order to prepare as quickly as possible for when provincial financing becomes available, he suggests.
As for the next provincial budget, "we may not have the resources there," Mr. McNeely says. "(But) it's certainly high on my priorities."
WHAT IS THE PROPOSED HUNT CLUB EXTENSION?
The Innes-Walkley-Hunt Club connection would see an arterial road extend east from Hunt Club Road beyond Highway 417, then travel north to connect to Walkley Road before continuing on to Innes Road just west of the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre. Plans also include an interchange at Hunt Club and Highway 417
By Laura Cummings
Special to the OBJ
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