By the Editor, Ottawa Citizen, June 26, 2018
The City of Gatineau is pushing aggressively for its own light-rail transit system. Good: Until that goal is achieved, Gatineau’s bus-only transit will be out of synch with Ottawa’s new LRT.
Gatineau wants to build a 26-kilometre rail line at an estimated cost of $2.1 billion. It hopes to use the Alexandra and Prince of Wales bridges to cross the Ottawa River and connect with our LRT. This would be a huge step forward for the thousands of Ontarians and Quebecers who commute interprovincially. But it’s far from a done deal.
The first challenge is money. In the past, Gatineau has been overlooked by separatist governments, because, well, it was too federalist. It was neglected by federalist governments because, well, it was already federalist. But now, Gatineau has the timing right to press its case, with a Quebec election this fall and a federal election in 2019. Politicians are in promise mode.
http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-gatineaus-lrt-should-get-full-support