The city is slated to receive $250 million from the nearly $3.4-billion federal-provincial investment, it was announced Friday, June 5. East-end projects include the Hunt Club Extension’s first phase and St. Joseph Boulevard streetscaping are on the recipient list.
The $20 million in funds to move ahead with the Hunt Club Extension – long a pet project for area elected officials – was a highlight of the announcement, says Ottawa-Orléans MPP Phil McNeely.
“We’re getting phase one of that, which is good,” he explains, noting the roadway will eventually provide a direct link for east-end residents to the south end and airport. “I’m pleased to see that.”
However, stacked up against the money dedicated to both the south and west ends, the east end comes out lacking, McNeely suggests, estimating the area’s total funding draw at about nine per cent, not including cash for the Hunt Club Extension.
“I’m wondering where Trim Road is (in this),” he says. “Where are the major asks?”
Other big projects – including extending the Transitway further east and the Blackburn Hamlet Bypass Extension – were also left off the list, McNeely says.
“We depend on public transit, so getting the bypass to Trim would have been a great thing to do,” he explains. “You have to look at where the money goes in the city, and it doesn’t come east. Fairness is not a big thing on this list.”
But Orléans Coun. Bob Monette lashed out at McNeely’s suggestion the east end could have been better-represented in the funding breakdown, with the city having decided where the money would flow.
“We got our fair share,” he explains. “Maybe (McNeely) should work a bit harder at the provincial level.”
It’s a balancing act to ensure the needs of each ward are met, Monette says, adding the city initially asked for federal-provincial funding totalling three times the amount received.
The money will mean better roads and services for the east end, he continues, pointing to the “broad range of funding” received by the area, including money dedicated to routes like North Service Road for safety upgrades and other improvements.
The inclusion of the Hunt Club Extension was also a bright spot for Monette, who call it “a real critical link for us to the south of the city.”
Ottawa-Orléans MP Royal Galipeau, meanwhile, points to the money set to be invested in “the heart of Orléans” – namely, $2.5 million for the St. Joseph Boulevard corridor – as a key feature of last week’s announcement.
“I remember Orléans as a friendly village of pedestrians,” he recounts, pointing to a 1970 report by urban planner Matthew Kilpatrick laying out a “wonderful” plan for a pedestrian-driven community to the then-Township of Gloucester. Instead, Galipeau continues, “greed took over” and the sale of key properties eventually transformed St. Joseph “into an eastern version of Merivale Road.”
The federal-provincial funding, he suggests, will be a step towards restoring the street to its former glory.
“Now we have a group in Orléans interested in revitalization,” Galipeau says, adding he prefers to leave speculation on what specific improvements could be seen to the municipal level. “I’m just tickled pink by their work. I hope they’re able to bring back the heart of Orléans.”
St. Joseph Boulevard streetscape improvements: $2,500,000 Hunt Club Extension Phase 1: $20,000,000 Ottawa Public Library retrofit, Cumberland Branch: $750,000 Ottawa River pathway improvements: $440,000 Widening Mer Bleue Road from Innes Rd. to Hydro Corridor: $5,000,000
