People living in Eastern Ontario are expressing feelings of being “betrayed” after the federal government announced it would consider a high-speed rail stop in Kingston, Ont.
On Monday, Federal Transport Minister Steven Mac Kinnon shared that a southern route option would be evaluated, connecting Ottawa and Peterborough. So far, the federal government has planned seven stops: Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Laval, Que., Montreal, Trois-Rivières, Que., and Quebec City.
Mac Kinnon noted that the corridor, which may include a stop in Kingston, will greatly reduce travel times between major cities while offering a low-emissions transportation choice.
“When I first heard about the project back in January and learned about the southern route, it was devastating. I remember falling to my knees at home, wondering what would happen and if they were going to just bulldoze through these communities,” Sarah Mc Mullen said.
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Mc Mullen works in Scarborough but spends a lot of time at her family’s cottage in Sydenham, located in Frontenac County. She told on Monday that emotions ran high after discovering that the proposed path for the high-speed rail could cut right through her property.
“It’s where my dad taught me how to fish. It’s where we used to walk down the Cataract Way Trail together and watch butterflies land on milkweed or see what muskrats were up to and observe birds,” she explained.
The Crown corporation Alto is overseeing this project and stated it was directed by the federal government to look into a southern route option between Ottawa and Peterborough with a “potential stop in Kingston.”
Alto claimed this could shorten travel times between Kingston and Toronto from three hours down to about 90 minutes. The potential stop might also connect with Via Rail’s station in Kingston.
A public consultation report released by Alto on Monday revealed that 58.8 percent of residents living along the proposed high-speed rail corridor from Quebec City to Toronto showed some level of support for the initiative.
Mac Kinnon mentioned he was “acting on what we heard” during public consultations when suggesting adding a stop in Kingston.
“This is a strong indication of preference for one route over another,” he stated; however, he emphasized that no final decision has been made yet.
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Mc Mullen expressed skepticism about this approach.
“They’re making it sound like they’re addressing our concerns and that stopping in Kingston solves everyone’s issues here in Eastern Ontario,” she said.
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Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won’t miss a trending story. She is involved with Save South Frontenac, a community group that conducted its own polling among residents of South Frontenac municipalities. Their poll found that 41.6 percent oppose the southern route while an additional 55.8 percent do not support the high-speed rail project overall. The majority indicated they haven’t received enough information from Alto or the federal government to fully understand how their community would be affected. “It doesn’t make sense,” Mc Mullen remarked. “The math isn’t adding up.” “Are you including statistics from everyone all over Toronto and Montreal? Because saying 40 percent supports this project doesn’t reflect how many people outside these cities actually oppose it,” she added. A representative from Transport Action Ontario named Peter Miasek said his advocacy group welcomes news of considering another route through Kingston but is worried about what he sees as insufficient transparency regarding the entire project. “We need clear business reasoning behind this plan,” he told . “We’re still undecided on high-speed rail since we haven’t seen any solid business case.” Story continues below An independent study by researchers at Mc Gill University suggests Alto’s projection of 24 million passengers annually by 2055 might actually be around eight to ten million instead. “We don’t have enough information because even Alto lacks data,” Anthony Jenkins shared with while protesting outside Monday’s announcement in Kingston. “There are no studies or evidence supporting their assumptions regarding ridership costs or general usefulness of this project two decades down the line.” A significant concern among residents along this corridor involves how effectively accessing other areas within their region will work once there’s an established rail line as well as its possible effects on emergency services needing passage across it. “What most people fail to grasp is they’re trying essentially build an impassable barrier stretching from Quebec City all way through Toronto without only few designated access points at stations plus drastically fewer crossings , ” Jenkins stated. Miasek suggested advising both federal authorities & Alto look into maximum speeds closer towards170km/h rather than aiming towards300 km/h because doing so could allow more flexibility for alternate transport methods.“The beauty about170isitmeansyoudon’thavetogate, separateorcloseeveryroadthatcrossesthetracks,”hesaid.
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The message is clear; some formofenhancedrailserviceisessentialforobviousreasonslike easingcongestion, generatingeconomicbenefits, fosteringinclusivity, andaddressingenvironmentalconcerns-there needs positivechanges movingforward! However, broaderrangeofoptions shouldbeconsidered.”Manyresidentslike Mc Mullinwouldpreferstayingsouth Frontenacwhile thoselookingtoleavemightfacechallengesfindingbuyersaccordingtorealestateagent Kevin Wells.
“Despite vagueness surroundingproposedroute, I’ve noticednegativeeffectsonthelocalrealestatemarket,”he informed .”I’vewitnessedmanybuyerschoose’holdingpattern’, optingagainstbuyingdueto uncertaintiesregardingimpactsofthistrain.”
This Realtorwith16yearsofexperience recentlylosta Toronto-basedbuyerwhowasinterestedin95-acrefarm.
“Theybackedoutsolelybecauseoftheuncertaintyregardinghow ALTOmightaffecttheproperty,”hewroteinanemail.
“I’mdeeplycommittedtofulldisclosure,”headded.”Wewantallpartiesinvolved-bothbuyersandsellers-tohaveaccurateinformationtheyneedtomakeeducateddecisionsaboutoneofthelargestfinancialinvestmentsinthelives.”
Unfortunately, secrecyandmisinformationaroundthisprojectrenderitdifficultforusproperlyguideclientsoranswervalidquestions.”
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