LRT By Sue Sherring

After years of political wrangling, the muchanticipated second phase of Ottawa’s light rail system is now almost a reality (we hope). The track to light rail has been a bumpy one, full of cost overruns, political duels, and delays After dreaming of a bigger and better light rail system in the nation’s capital, Bob Chiarelli lost his coveted position as mayor of Ottawa in 2006 at the hands of political newbie Larry O’Brien. One of the key issues that led to his defeat? Light rail.

“It’s never too late to press the reset button,” O’Brien said countless times during the election campaign, referring to his desire to cancel the north-south LRT plan championed by Chiarelli. On his way to victory, O’Brien got a little help from his friend John Baird who, as Treasury Board president, used his power to withhold the feds’ promise of $200 million in LRT funding until after the election. (Baird, a Tory, was accused of acting politically, given the acrimonious relationship he and Chiarelli, a Liberal, had over the years.)

Chiarelli’s loss at the polls also meant the death of his dreams for a north-south light rail system and greenlighted O’Brien’s east-west system.

One critical question has yet to be answered: will light rail improve the city’s public transit system and increase users? Will suburbanites make use of a system that doesn’t reach them? There’s a lot riding on its success.

OC Transpo boss John Manconi recently made a stark admission to city council, suggesting the city’s present bus system simply won’t work properly until LRT is up and running.

“The system has not been reliable. Everybody is raising that with me, and I’m not denying it. It is not a reliable system right now,” Manconi said. “Our customers are going through a lot of pain. I need the LRT to get up and running. I can’t be any more candid with you than that. We have had a horrible reliability issue. I’m not making excuses.”