Current status

Terms of reference: approved, September 26, 2005

On October 25, 2007, the proponent notified the ministry that they would be proceeding with the transit project under the Transit Chapter of the amended Municipal Engineers Association class environmental assessment.

Project summary

The purpose of the undertaking is to respond to growth pressures by providing improved transportation (Light Rail Transit) for the East-West Corridor within the growth areas of Kanata and Orléans as well as inside the Greenbelt.

Proponent

City of Ottawa

Location

City of Ottawa

Type

Transit

Reference number

05073

Contact

Environmental Assessment and Permissions Branch

Project history

Terms of reference: approved
Date submitted: June 17, 2005
Expiry of public comment period: July 18, 2005
Decision date: September 26, 2005

Terms of reference

Description of the undertaking being proposed

The purpose of the East-West Corridor LRT Project (the undertaking) is to:

  • respond to growth pressures by providing improved transportation in the study area
  • continue making Ottawa a liveable and economically viable city by providing a valuable tool for structuring and achieving land use, environmental, and social objectives
  • expand the City’s rapid transit network to accommodate existing and future demand between the communities of Orleans and Kanata (and points in between) along an east-west corridor generally following the existing Ottawa Central Railway and Cumberland Transitway corridors.

The proposed project would include expansion of the City’s rapid transit network to accommodate existing and future travel demand between the communities of Orleans and Kanata (and points in between) along an approximately 47 km east-west corridor generally following the existing Ottawa Central Railway and Cumberland Transitway corridors. The East-West corridor would provide improved east-west transit connectivity bypassing the downtown.

Canadian Environmental Assessment Act coordination

The requirements of CEAA are triggered if a project is a federal project, requires federal land, is funded by a federal agency, or requires an approval by a federal agency. For this project, the main potential trigger is anticipated to be federal agency approvals related to fisheries.

As part of this environmental assessment, the City will attempt to coordinate federal and provincial environmental assessment requirements to minimize duplication. Documentation will also be coordinated as much as possible. It should be noted that this ToR would not limit the scoping activity that the Federal Authorities will undertake once CEAA is formally triggered.