Transcript for Stop The Kettle Island Bridge

What happens when NCC consultants

decide to build a new bridge at Kettle Island

and a 4 lane truck highway

through 12+ residential neighbourhoods

impacting more than 100,000 people

in downtown Ottawa and Gatineau?

More than 1000 angry citizens show up..

..they are demanding answers.

We're not saying no bridge.

We're just saying put it where it makes sense.

Again, I ask directly the responsible federal and provincial authorities

How is it possible in 2008

For a study to consider that globally the natural environment, fish, fish habitat etc. at 17%

is almost twice as important as the habitat for people.

Homes, communities, institutions....that's at 9% !

Our coalition members are outraged.

We demand that the recommendation for Kettle Island be rejected

We demand that the decision for a bridge location get the trucks off King Edward Avenue

We demand that any future bridge be directed into a regional ring road system.

And we demand that established neighbourhoods be protected from intrusion by highways and bridges.

The process that was used in this study is the most comprehensive process...

Other cities place top priority on people, communities, and the environment

but apparently not Ottawa-Gatineau

I've been sitting here like everybody else listening and I'm not hearing a lot of talk

about the concerns about people and their homes and their community

I'm hearing a lot of talk about trucks and getting those trucks and moving those trucks

this is ridiculous!

This study is the most comprehensive

most defendable process to make decisions for public infrastructure.

No one that lives in the area was used to do the evaluation

If you say that this process was open, transparent, and unbiased

will you make the transcripts from the discussions

that took place in the technical committee available to the public?

Yes or No?

Do we have transcript of what happened within those four walls?

The answer is no.

When we looked at the terms of reference for this study

it was clear that the removal of trucks from the downtown core

was one of the major reasons for undertaking the study.

But when we saw the results of the study

and we saw the number of trucks removed from King Edward and the core was 30%

we were somewhat aghast and pretty surprised and rather angry by it

...and..I've been a teacher for 40 years

and I'll tell you, anyone who gets 30% on a test has to redo it

The process that was used in this study is the most comprehensive process...

So this is quite an odd situation because

you've made a recommendation, you've chosen a corridor

before you do the major environmental and human community assessment.

How do you account for that?

The process that was used in this study is the most comprehensive process...

I am co-founder and editor of

StopTheBridge.org

Thank you for your support.

Thanks to all the people who showed up from all parts of Ottawa.

WE WILL WIN THIS FIGHT

www.stopthebridge.org

Produced by StopTheBridge.org for the present and future citizens of Ottawa