CCC Agenda, Jan 29th

[John Verbaas]

Please find below the draft agenda for our next mtg...Jan 29th at 7pm

David Jeanes has graciously offered that we could meet in the boardroom of
Transport Action Canada's offices in the Bronson Centre, 211 Bronson at
Lisgar. At the end of this email is some detail on how to get there by bus
and on parking.

Once, inside the building take the left hand staircase to the third floor
then to the far south end of the hall, Room 308. There is an elevator at the
back of the building: follow the signs to the right of the entrance.

Let me know if there are any other items you would like to have added to the
proposed agenda below.

7:00 p.m., Transport Action Canada's Office
Location: 211 Bronson (at Lisgar) Rm 308

Draft Agenda:

1) Administrative
- Agenda review, Meeting Secretary
- Approval of Minutes: Nov 27, 2013
- Minutes: http://www.ccc-ottawa.ca/meetings/2013-11-27-minutes

2) 2013 TMP, OCP and Pedestrian Plan summary
- report on some of the last minute changes to the plan,
...some of the behind the scenes activities
- overall summary of main differences from 2008 plan

3) LRT fare control report
- late in the fall OC Transpo reported on the equipment they will install
in the LRT and O-Train stations
- there will be no ability to charge different fares by distance
- how do we feel about that?

4) Scott street bus detours during LRT construction
- can anyone report on alternatives that may be under study?
- and suggest a role for CCC to play?

5) Downtown Interprovincial Truck Tunnel Study
- the terms of reference are to be finalized by end of Jan
- report on LCA and ASH submissions re. the study scope

6) LRT western extension (Tunneys to Lincoln Fields)
- recent NCC board mtg report
- shifting of Lincoln Fields station to south of Carling
- any other updates?

6) Development Charges Review (final report Jun 2014)
- explanation of how these are calculated for roads and transit
- roads and transit charges are >50% of total development charge costs
- discussion of weaknesses in the calculation that result in
downtown development funding outside the greenbelt infrastructure
- does CCC want to try to influence changes?

7) Any other business? Please email if you have items you'd like to
discuss.

www.ccc-ottawa.ca

Continuing reflection on proposed areas for focus in 2014 and beyond for
CCC. Please feel free to email the list if you have ideas/things to
propose.

It seems CCC is at a bit of a juncture in its existence. A lot of things
have changed in the transportation portfolio in Ottawa in the last few
years. Many of them in the direction of what we've advocated towards.
Spending is down on road expansions and up on transit and cycling. Two main
road projects we have focused on opposing (the AVTC and Prince of Wales
widening) have been pushed off by 10-15 years at minimum. The O-Train is
being expanded and extended!. The LRT project is underway and it's
expansion plans accelerated. An interprovincial transit strategy has been
completed and the inteprovincial bridge project (the biggest road project in
Ottawa in >50 years) has been terminated and replaced by a focus on a
downtown tunnel as an alternative. We should have a party!

Since we seem to have less things "to oppose" there is a risk of losing our
momentum. Do we want to shift our focus to influencing long term policies?
One thing that I keep thinking of as a potential next step is to be involved
with attempts to re-align how our society costs out our transportation
modes. One way to help along our vision of less sprawling cities and
increasing the affordability/desireabily of living in more compact
environments is to put more financial incentives in place to send those
price signals. Right now the way municipalities fund roads and transit does
not make hardly any distinction between where you live and how much you use
the roads/transit. Should/can we embark...especially now in light of a
potential new council...on starting up an intelligent and sensitive
conversation on this topic? In the 2013 TMP the City declared they had no
interest in this topic.

Other possible examples: other longer term items for CCC focus:
- turning complete streets policy into complete streets implementations
- cycling investment is up (doubled)
...but still a mere 2% of Ottawa's transportatio capital investment
- funding structure for transit/roads/cycling operational and capital
costs
(Kathleen Wynne's proposal to add 5 to 10 cents additional gas taxes)
- pushing the NCR towards implementation of the interprovincial transit
strategy
- bus route network changes post LRT .. Influencing the choices
- AVTC - how to get it removed entirely from the next TMP?
- Lansdowne Transportation - coming someday soon
- please email to the list if you have other ideas


Directions for Bronson Centre

Access by bus:
- It is on Bus Route 4,
- an easy 2-block walk from bus route 2 at Somerset and Bronson,
- or about 4 blocks from Bay transitway stop.

Free parking is available on Bronson, Nepean, Lisgar and Primrose adjacent
to the Bronson Centre, or in front of the building if there is room (6
spaces),

John