PETITION NOW CLOSED
850 Total signatures

We are delivering the signatures to City Hall tomorrow. In addition to the online petition almost 300 others signed a door-to-door version. Depending how the the budget deliberations go, please close the loop and let your Councillor and Mayor know how you feel about their decision. 

Thank you for taking your time to make a difference.
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Sign this petition to stop the City of Ottawa from building the first phase of the Alta Vista Corridor road, a 1.2 km road linking the General Hospital parking lots and ring road to Riverside Drive. The road is now a $55 million item in budget approvals with council.

Last chances to have your say on the AVTC Road before council votes Mar 8-10
1. Thursday March 3 (tonight) is the final Budget Consultation in City Hall council chambers 7pm - 9pm.
2. Friday March 4 (tomorrow morning) we'll have our last street protest during rush hour at 7:30am - 9am. We'll be out on Alta Vista Drive between Cluny & Valour.

Sign this petition if you want your tax dollars to support smarter, more environmental investments such as better public transit, much needed infrastructure repairs and a more liveable city.

Further information:
"Ghost Road" protest song

The price Alta Vista might pay
Opposition mounts against Alta Vista Corridor
Hume's advocacy of corridor wrong, waste of taxpayer dollars
Alta Vista corridor not for the "greater good"
Riverview Park not only community opposed to Alta Vista corridor

Detailed MAP of proposed road. (PDF 1MB)

5 reasons to sign this petition

1) It's an expensive road very few Ottawans will use. The road will cost twice as much per km than the 401 collector lanes through Toronto and 8x more per km than twinning the Sea-to-Sky highway from Vancouver to Whistler.

2) New roads go against the city's own Smart Growth plan for better transit that states "Ottawa implements policies that favour walking, cycling and public transit over the use of private motor vehicles, thereby facilitating the use of modes of transportation that are socially accessible, environmentally healthy and economically feasible."

3) The city has never provided a well-founded rationale for the road, despite residents' and community associations' requests to consider alternatives. The hospital needs to improve access for its expansion. Good transit access for hospital staff and visitors will free up roads for patients in cars and ambulances.

4) It is the first section of the planned Alta Vista Transportation Corridor road, which, if completed, will bring even more cars onto already congested roads leading into the city centre.

5) The road will destroy a natural recreation area, fields, walking trails and a toboggan hill that residents have been enjoying for generations.

What else you can do?:

1) Write or call your Councillor and the Mayor if you want your tax dollars to support smarter investments such as better public transit, much needed existing infrastructure repairs and a more liveable city.

2) Spread the word, like this on Facebook, send it to friends, and speak up about what kind of Ottawa you want to live in.

3) Tell the media.

4) Voice your opinion at city budget consultations on March 3rd (also see http://rpca.wordpress.com/ and Ottawa.ca for ongoing details).

Background on the proposed road. (PDF 32K)

Dear Mayor and Councillors of Ottawa,

We, the undersigned, call on Ottawa City council to remove funding for the Alta Vista Corridor Hospital Link road from the 2011 budget. This project represents poor value for money, especially during a period of fiscal restraint.

The reasons for our request are the following:
1) It is an expensive road that few Ottawans will use.
2) New roads go against the City's Official Plan goals of encouraging residents to use modes of transport other than private vehicles.
3) The hospital and any new housing would be better served by public transit.
4) Local traffic will not be reduced but will only shift; better public transit is the only way to reduce traffic.
5) This road is the first section of the AVTC road, which if completed would bring more cars into the city centre.

In short, Ottawa doesn't need, nor can we afford, the road. Let's spend the $55 million on necessary infrastructure repairs and/or light rail instead.

Thank you for taking the time to read our concerns.