Mayor's Task Force on Transportation

Mayor’s Task Force on Transportation Report

June 2007

1 Background

During the 2006 municipal election campaign, Mayoral candidate Larry O’Brien campaigned on taking a step back from the city’s present transportation plans through the deployment of a “task force” to make recommendations on changes.

Six out of every seven voters who cast ballots on November 13th voted for Mayoral candidates who outlined alternate visions to the proposed North-South LRT plan. On December 14, 2006, City Council voted not to proceed with the North-South LRT configuration.

Transportation issues – both vehicular and mass transit – remain a key priority for Ottawa citizens. The Office of the Mayor has received over 100 expressions of interest from citizens and organizations wishing to serve on the Task Force.

2 Mandate

The Mayor’s Task Force on Transportation is an external advisory body that will report back to Mayor O’Brien on or before June 1, 2007. Its mandate is to:

  • Examine the City of Ottawa’s current Master Transportation Plan and all current or proposed transportation infrastructure projects;
  • Review available transportation options including Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Light Rail Transit (LRT), heavy rail, High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes, new transit corridors, bridges and facilities;
  • Review proposed future residential and commercial development plans to assess their impact on existing transportation infrastructure and future needs;
  • Solicit input from Ottawa city councillors, the City of Gatineau, the National Capital Commission (NCC) on their transportation objectives with a view to ensuring future City of Ottawa initiatives are aligned with an integrated approach to transportation planning within the National Capital Region (NCR);
  • Provide a forum – to be defined – to receive public input and submissions.
  • Make recommendations (short-, medium-, and long-term) for development of a integrated rapid transportation plan that alleviates existing East/West pressures, is scalable to account for immediate and growing pressures in the South end and provides options to reduce congestion through the downtown corridor.

3 Timetable

The Task Force will meet at a schedule set by the Chair and tasks will be assigned through a work plan developed by the members of the Task Force during its first week of meetings.

The final report will be provided to Mayor O‘Brien on or before June 1, 2007. Upon review, Mayor O’Brien will then submit the Task Force Report to the relevant city committees for consideration.

The Task Force report will be advisory in nature only. All decisions with respect to future transit and transportation initiatives in Ottawa are the domain and responsibility of City Council.

4 Working Definition

Transportation:

1: an act, process, or instance of transporting or being transported;
2a: means of conveyance or travel from one place to another;
b: public conveyance of passengers or goods especially as a commercial enterprise.

For the purposes of this Task Force, transportation will be defined as any means to transport persons or goods anywhere with the City of Ottawa, including public transit, personal and commercial vehicle use, pedestrian conveyance, cycling and taxi services.

5 Direction to Task Force Members

The members, once selected, approve of the Terms of Reference for this Task Force.

Members of the Task Force will each be compensated $1 for the extent of their participation. Reasonable expenses will be reimbursed and be assumed through the budget of the Office of the Mayor.

A full accounting of task force expenditures will be provided shortly after submission of the Task Force report to the Mayor.

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