Thursday, November 30, 2006

Traffic Congestion

To: Letter Editor, Ottawa Citizen

Date: November 30, 2006

As a member and Past President of the Community Council of Overbrook, I attended the Rockcliffe Development Open House held on Wednesday, November 28 at the Aviation Museum. I brought with me concerns expressed in my own community about the impact of traffic on the surrounding neighbourhoods. Arriving by local transit, I initially thought that perhaps community interest in this project was waning, as I was the only person to get off bus #129 at the Museum. Such fears were quickly dispelled upon entering a crowd of several hundred people. A quick survey of the parking lot showed me how people were arriving.

Unsurprisingly, the impact of traffic topped the list of concerns expressed by CARAD (a consortium of area community groups). Isn’t it curious, I thought, that all these people hopped in their cars to express concerns about traffic congestion?

When are we going to realize that we will only come to grips with traffic congestion when we start taking more seriously the impact of our own transportation choices? If you find yourself sitting in your car complaining about congestion, remember that you are part of the problem from every other driver’s perspective.

Leonard Poole