Points Raised at PWG meeting 1

The goal of the first PWG meeting was to intorduce ourselves and define our role and what we would attempt to achieve. We also talked about what the difference is between a rail yard vs a maintenange facility vs a storage facility. Finally we heard what features are expected in the maintenance /storage facility.

In brief, the facility will be made up of the following:

• a light maintenance area
• a heavy area
• a washing facility much like a modern car wash
• hydrolic cranes
• storage area

Each site has a unique layout, but most have the heavey and light maintenance areas in one building, a separate building for storage and a separate area for washing. Standard contamination precaustions will be put in place, according to WHIMIS and other health and safety regulations.

After the meeting many comments were made regarding the short timeline in which we have to complete this site analysis, something that would take a contractor months. The group is comprised of community representatives, environment groups, related agencies, the consultants MMM (Marshall Macklin Monaghan) who are contracted by the city to provide program management and assist in the selection of a private company to do the work on the public-private venture.

Some of the comments that were raised following the meeting:

• The MOE rep said, that the MOE won't decide which site is best - that's up to the city.
• The proponents were asked to bid on the project, assuming that the Lester site would be where the yard goes.
• The cost of building the yard on some other site than Lester, would have to be negotiated with the successful bidder.As Stan Rosenbaum of the Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club pointed out, that could leave the city open to ransom.
• "They" said that the ELRT vehicles will not run in trains (thus negating most of the economies of scale that LRT is SUPPOSED to provide, compared to buses). At most, they expect no more than two car trains, and platforms no longer than that, for the far distant future.
• It was admitted that trucks servicing the Lester site would have to access it from the Airport Parkway.Several members of the PAC advised them that trucks are not allowed on the Parkway. No response from the planners.
• Some time was spent looking at the Anderson Storage & Maintenance facility for Calgary's LRT and we found many feature similarities to it and the Walkley site.
• MMM cannot/will not provide costing figures. Since cost is such a high criteria, a proper comparison of the sites can't be done.