PICK THE BEST CIVIC SITE
Former mayors speak out
Following is from a letter sent to the National Capital Commission by Jacquelin Holzman and Jim Durrell, former Ottawa mayors:
In 1998 we, along with the late mayor Lorry Greenberg, helped to bring a bad decision to the public’s attention. The province had decided to downgrade the Civic Hospital to a community hospital, placing all trauma services only at the General. It would have been a disaster — especially for patients in the west end and Ottawa Valley, since it took ambulances less time to reach the Civic than to reach the General.
Today we are faced with another major hospital-related decision, one that will impact patient health and safety and our tax bills for generations, one where seconds and minutes matter just as much as they did in 1998.
All agree that the 92-year-old Civic campus needs to be replaced. The process to find the right location began nine years ago. A steering committee was formed and it worked closely with various government organizations at all levels to identify 12 potential sites.
Two strong options emerged and one was eliminated due to changing growth projects. The chosen site — 60 acres on the northwest portion of the Central Experimental Farm — was approved by the federal government and a Memorandum of Understanding was developed and signed.
Public consultations were about to begin, but were delayed due to the federal election. Just recently, the NCC identified 12 potential locations and welcomed public feedback. The NCC will soon make its recommendation to the minister of Canadian Heritage and three important questions must be asked.
1. What is the best location for the new Civic campus?
2. What site puts the needs of patients first?
3. What site balances their needs while protecting the taxpayer from unnecessary spending?
We are not experts in hospital development and construction. But we both know our city and our citizens well, having led Ottawa as mayors. In our opinion, after reviewing what the experts have said, it makes sense that the three top contenders would be based close to the existing hospital. Here’s our take on them.
Site #11, the Sir John Carling site, should not be chosen, primarily because:
It will take ambulances longer to get to, thereby putting patients at risk.
The construction cost could escalate by at least tens of millions of dollars in order to remove or relocate the many buildings now on this site.
A large number of trees would need to be removed. We stopped counting at 500.
Site #10 — located between the original choice (i.e. those 60 acres on the northwest portion of the farm, known as site #9) and Sir John Carling (site #11) — should be considered, but only after being reconfigured with site #9. Here’s why:
As it is configured now, it will take ambulances less time to get here than to the Sir John Carling site.
However, at least tens of millions of dollars estimated to remove or relocate existing buildings will escalate the cost.
Not being on a corner, it has only one major access route.
Site #9 — the originally selected site — should be seriously considered because:
Like site #10 (with which it shares some acreage), it is closer to the Queensway.
As a corner location, it has additional access from side roads other than Carling Avenue.
There are no buildings on this site, so capital costs will be much less as a result.
We have not found any indication that the agricultural experiments on the Central Experimental Farm’s Field #1 will be impacted because: a) most will be completed in 2018 — eight years before the first shovel goes in the ground; and b) the knowledge gathered from the current research should not be impacted.
Our recommendation:
It appears as if #9, the original site, is the best choice because of more access and fewer capital costs. However, we believe that sites #9 and #10 should be reconfigured to: increase access. minimize the costs of demolishing buildings. protect Field #1. The best decision is one that puts the quality and safety of patients’ health first and balances that with sound financial common sense. This is a once-in-a-lifetime decision. We need to get it right.