OSCADelcan's previous study, prepared for the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), supported OSEG's contention that transportation and traffic won't be serious problems for the Glebe and Old Ottawa South if their plan goes ahead. One of the conditions laid down by Council when it approved moving ahead on the next phase of the proposal to develp Lansdowne Park was that there be another, professionally managed traffic study to determine the true impact on our communities. This condition was added at the insistence of community groups such as OSCA and the Glebe Community Association (GCA).
It is OSCA's position that sole sourcing to Delcan not only contradicts the City's own procurement policies, but gives responsibility for conducting the study to a firm that is not demonstrably neutral, as Delcan was a contractor for the group pushing for the development of the site. In addition, OSCA, the GCA, and other community groups have expressed their concern that the Terms of Reference for the study developed by Delcan have serious weaknesses that need to be corrected before the work can proceed.
Brendan McCoy, co-chair of the OSWatch Committee, will present OSCA's position to the Joint Meeting of the Transportation and Transit Committee on Monday, February 8. OOS residents are encouraged to attend this meeting, where committee members will vote on whether to recommend that Councill approve the Terms of Reference, and that the study be sole sourced to Delcan. The meeting will be held at 9:30 am at City Hall, in Andrew S. Haydon Hall.
Last week OSCA president Michael Jenkin and Mohammad al-Asad, Co-chair of OSwatch, attended a meeting at City Hall that included City Manager Kent Kirkpatrick, City Planner John Smit, and other community stakeholders affected by the Lansdowne Park redevelopment. The purpose of the meeting was to give stakeholders an opportunity to review a draft version of the "Lansdowne Revitalization Transportation Impact and Assessment Study and Transportation Demand Management Plan", which is the plan's full title. Michael Jenkin and OSWatch are preparing a response to the plan to be presented to the City by February 5. The City will make public a (potentially) revised plan on Febrary 10. When made public, we will post a link to the plan on this website.
OSCA president Michael Jenkin's Feb. 3 comments to the City in response to the meeting can be read here.
To keep the community informed, OSWatch will shortly be publishing other reports relating to the Lansdowne Transportation Study on this website.