Marianne, I am very concerned that the City has overlooked running the O train out to Kanata. When the consultants were confronted at the TMP discussions, they provided very weak answers, to what is a very practical and lower costsolution.

1) The line is designated a short line and hardly used, except for freight. (Apart from the shared track between Prince of Wales and the Airport Parkway).

2) The quotes of FRA vehicle compliancy are incorrect. Transport Canada only requires FRA compliancy if the vehicle cannot be separated from other freight or passenger rail services, even then it will allow Positive Train Control (PTC) to mitigate mixed freight /passenger service running.

3) The current BRT service between Eagleson and downtown core are predominantly commuters who need a fast commute and a reduced number of stops ( in fact I would suggest that 75% of the bus are passengers that go between Eagleson and the core and are in no way reflected in the transportation master plan.

This transport Canada ruling has a big impact on the line. With an upgraded signalling and Positive train Control this is significant justification for studying the use of the line as a commuter route.

I would even suggest that the line be spurred and run along the proposed terry Fox drive extension out to Scotia bank place where is would serve the west and south Kanata residents as well. Furthermore a station at March road would also serve the North Kanata residents and the March road business communities.

I would like to see a financial comparison between rail line modifications and the combined cost of Terry Fox drive extension, Campeau drive widening, Eagleson widening and the new bus route to Kanata. My hunch is that the rail line will be significantly cheaper and more practical to Kanata residents.

The TMP purports to reduce car ownership, but how does increasing road capacity over the reinstatement of a potentially more economic rail line make real sense?

By all means build the LRT out to Bayshore, but please reconsider the options out to Kanata before we commit to buses for the next thirty years.

My additional concern is that the city is still not addressing the objectives of passenger convenience and connectivity. As a Kanata resident it takes well over an hour to get to the airport and 30+ minutes by car - small wonder why I drive there. With the rail line in place the line can also be be spurred North of Hunt club and connected into the airport as it was originally designed to do.

I am just at a loss as to why the City cannot place itself in the shoes of the commuter and local residents and think about the larger picture. Instead we just asphalt over more land and create more roads, create more drainage issues, increase yearly maintenance costs and when there is no more capacity we add more lanes.

Are we to end up with a multiple lane highway like in Toronto before we realize that this is wrong and that life in the city is impossible, or do we start to change the rationale and direction of the city in line with other forward thinking countries. As a 'Hi-tech' city we should be adopting hi-tech solutions and not the low-tech ideas of yesteryear.

I leave these thought in your capable hands.