Ottawa Greens Hit the Streets to Highlight the City's Transit Problems

<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />Ottawa, Sept. 24 — Ottawa Greens are taking to the city’s clogged roadways this week to make a point — that their party has the best plan for reducing the city’s traffic jams.

 

Every morning during rush hour this week, Ottawa-area Green candidates and their supporters will be positioned at key intersections, waving homemade placards with tongue-in-cheek slogans that have a serious message: Ottawa urgently needs upgraded transit, and the Greens are best positioned to fix the problem.

 

“It’s a fun but effective way to let people know that the Green Party has the best plan to solve Ottawa’s transit problems”, says Jen Hunter, the Green candidate in Ottawa Centre. “And with so many people stuck in traffic, we thought we’d share our message as they sit and wait.”

 

The Green Party platform, released last week, allocates one per cent from the GST to municipal governments for “Green Cities” initiatives, such as electricity and water conservation, increasing densification, expanding rapid transit, and building more cycling and walking paths. It also calls for more of the federal gas tax to be transferred directly to municipalities, and for the creation of “Municipal Superfunds” that cities can tap into to clean up brownfield sites and make community housing more energy-efficient.

 

Toronto Mayor David Miller praised the Green Party’s platform last week, saying it offered the best plan for cities.

 

“The lack of cooperation between the three levels of government has stalled transit,” says Frances Coates. “Ottawa Greens in Parliament can work cooperatively with both Liberals and Conservatives to get a light rail plan back on track.”

 

“Ottawa Greens will support whichever transit plan the people of Ottawa decide on,” says Lori Gadzala, the Green candidate in Nepean-Carleton. “Our job is not to second-guess what the people of Ottawa want. Our job is to deliver stable funding to help make Ottawa a clean, green city that people enjoy living in.”