Simon: As NDP MP, I’ll make light-rail to Kanata my priority

Melissa Simon, NDP candidate for Kanata: ‘As your federal member of Parliament, I commit to prioritizing funding for infrastructure projects.’Article content

The Citizen invited Ottawa candidates from the four main parties to write a short article explaining what they will do for their local riding if elected. Some chose to participate; others did not. Today, Kanata NDP candidate Melissa Simon:

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More than 20 years ago, I moved my young family to Kanata from Nepean on the promise that by the time my kids graduated high school, public transit would be available to ferry them to and from Kanata to local colleges and universities as they pursued their post-secondary learning here in Ottawa.

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How lucky we’d be, I thought, to live in a city with excellent post-secondary options: We could save thousands by allowing our kids to live at home while completing their degrees right here in the city.

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My children are now teens and young adults, and it’s no spoiler to day that, as of now, none of them has been able to reliably use public transit to get from our home in Kanata to either Carleton University or Algonquin College. When transit is actually working, a commute from home to one of these institutions takes up to two hours one way. Transiting up to four hours a day on overcrowded buses while making multiple transfers is not conducive to studying, completing assignments, working part-time jobs, spending time with friends and family, or being physically active; all things that students need to do.

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My family’s story is just one example of the failure of Ottawa’s transit system to meet the needs of our residents. Reliable and efficient public transit is necessary for all members of our community to participate in daily life, whether that be commuting to school or work, attending cultural events, completing errands such as grocery shopping, or any of a number of other activities.

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It wasn’t so long ago that Ottawa’s transit system was considered “successful”: We had among the highest transit use per capita in the country less than two decades ago. Since that time, however, our transit system has been falling apart. Cancelled projects, budget cuts, delayed Light Rail Transit (LRT), technical mistakes, planning shortcomings, missed deadlines, and unpredictable shutdowns — all accompanied by rising fares — have led to growing frustrations and declining ridership. These days, many of us plan our daily commute in terms of personal vehicles. Not only does this cost us extra stress, money and hassle, it also means more traffic congestion, poorer environmental impacts and greater costs to maintain heavily-burdened city streets.

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Transportation is a shared responsibility of federal, provincial and municipal governments. As your federal member of Parliament, I commit to prioritizing funding for infrastructure projects, including the funding of LRT Phase 3 to Kanata and Stittsville. I will demand accountability for the investments our government makes into transit projects with your tax dollars, so that future transit projects are completed on time, correctly and on budget.

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While I have written this article in response to an invitation to describe what I would do that directly impacts Kanata, I invite you to visit https://www.kcndp.org/ to learn more about who I am and what other priorities I will address as your member of Parliament.

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Melissa Simon is the federal NDP candidate for Kanata riding.

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