Some residents have received notices from Dillon Consulting, a firm hired by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO). The notice, which you can read here, is about an Online Public Information Centre regarding site selection, preliminary design and an Environmental Assessment Study for a highway maintenance patrol yard. One of the five shortlisted sites is along the east side of Moodie Dr south of the school (north of Corkstown).
If you’re feeling like this is “déjà vu all over again,” you’re not alone. CBLCA shares residents’ concerns about this proposal, which comes just three years after we successfully engaged with the City’s LRT2 team and the National Capital Commission (NCC) to prevent the construction of a Light Rail Maintenance and Storage Facility (LMSF) at the same location.
We are taking action
CBLCA will be making a submission to oppose this proposed development, which we will publish on our website. Our submission will focus on the following:
- Adjacent to a residential area on Solva, to DND, and to Abbott Point of Care (who need a vibration-free environment)
- Traffic conflicts due to proximity to Moodie station terminus, buses and trains, and the LMSF
- Protected Greenbelt and wildlife corridor
- Residential, institutional, environmental protection, and open space and leisure zones (next to a school)
- Floodplains
- Wetlands
- NCC land
Here is what you can do:
- Review the materials provided at the online Public Information Centre and visit the project website here.
- By Friday, July 10, 2020, send your own submission to the two email addresses on the website: OttawaPatrolYard@dillon.ca and Obinna.Obiefule@ontario.ca, and copy us at generalcblca@gmail.com. We have created a sample letter you can use as-is, or personalize as you wish.
- There is strength in numbers. Please take a moment to answer this online question about whether you support or oppose this proposal.
also would mean increased truck traffic crossing the NCC bike path that travels east-west along Watts creek
definitely opposed to the site on Moodie being used for this purpose
Out of interest, do we know what the full 5 short listed sites are?
Yes, they are all included in the materials on the online Public Information Centre (link in article).
I am definitely opposed to the site on Moodie being used for this purpose.
I looked at the 5 site on the short llist. i note that the one on Moody bears number 9, suggesting it was not on the top of the long list. I also understand that the elementary school the maintenance yard would be close too is, I believe, for students with special needs, the risks for them is greater, probably, on the average student there than it would be on a normal school. The presence of the maintenance yard would probably be one more thing the school board would take into account when making decision on closure of schools. if the school closes, well that would be a lot of land that would be put for sale inviting either an expansion of the maintenance yard or related businesses to establish themselves in its vicinity.
Walking throug that area earlier this spring, I noted a space that seemps to be used as a deer ravage in the winter. This goes without mentionning the effect of the mainteance yard on the neibhouring wetlands which I was told years ago is an habitat for some rare turtles.
Finallly, on traffic, yes that would mean a lot more heavy trucks on a stretch of Moodis that as seen better days. But to me as important is that maintenance trucks and plows coming north on highway 416 north to go to that new maintenance yard would have to take the Holly Acres Road exit, turn left (i.e., thus interfering with traffic coming out of the 417 at holly acres that either turns left of right… thus having a risk of accidents where the two of ramps meet. Additionnaly, the traffic of maintenance trucks getting on HW 417 west through the holly acres on ramp would also increase the risks of accidentes on that left turn and trucks running along that on ramp all the way to moodie would also increase the noise factor for the whole neiborhood, partucularly for the streetes closest to highway 17.
We also do not know what equipment sits on the mainteance yard, if there is to be a salt, grimme or sand depot their for winter road maintenance, well it would affect the wheatlands a lot and would mean additional heavy traffic for delivery of these things to the maintenance yard. In our neighboorhood a potentially better candidate would have been the land in the triangle formed by Highway 417, Holly Acres Road and Richmond Road,
I would add that yes, these Patrol Trucks would affect the bus traffic coming to and going from Moody and Bayshore Station once the OLT runs all the way to the OC Transpo maintenance yard. This would affect OCTranspo passengers coming from Bell’s Corner, Bridlewood, and the remainder of Kanada. To me it does little sense to change the current location of the Highway Maintenance Yard unless that property may be taken over by OC Transpo once the LRT reaches there for a more permanent maintenance yard.
Check out the present yard in Kanata on Google Maps satellite view. Mounds of debris and garbage, hundreds of old tires and what are obviously gas and oil spill marks throughout the yard. This is exactly what kind of environmental mess that is being considered for our residential community. This plus added noise and light pollution (these areas are used 24/7) Where does our councilor stand on this?
MTO Planning Authority:
Re: Industrial Maintenance Control Yard
Whoever came up with this ill conceived plan, must have failed the Real Estate Development Course!
You don’t Sandwich develop an Industrial type Facility beside a Special Education School, and a High Tech Medical Equipment Facility, and Bulldose Green Space habitate, and pave it over with short sightedness!
This should be a ‘No Brainer’, for a variety of reasons.
I’m adamently opposed to such a poorly thought-out proposal.
We already had the discussion of this land with OC Transpo, for a Rail Maintenance Yard. It’s unbelievably stupid!
I doubt very much that it’s even zoned Industrial.
It would be so refreshing, if one level of Government, could meet, consult, and talk with other levels of Government, to determine the reasoning, before wasting more resources, and continuing to making poor decisions.
Especially during a Viral Pandemic, that’s also the result of poor deciusions!
Mr. R. Chamberlin, RCFM