7 named to Ottawa mayor's transportation task force

Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien's transportation task force will include a bus driver, a downtown businessmanager and a transit advocate, but no city councillors.

The mayor promised to review Ottawa's transportation options after city council voted to cancel the city's proposed north-south light rail line in December.

O'Brien said Tuesday that the seven-member committee charged with reviewing Ottawa's transportation options for the future includes:

• Roger Beauchesne, 59, a retired public servant and professional engineer from the Rideau-Rockcliffe area.
• Susan Brownrigg-Smith,48, a member of the city's Community Budget Advisory Team. Brownrigg-Smith lives in Barrhaven.
• Terry Findlay, 57, who hasbeen an OC Transpo driver for 35 years, and lives in the Westboro neighbourhood.
• Harry Gow, 68, co-founder of the transit advocacy group Transport 2000 Canada. Gow lives inChelsea, Que.
• Hanif Patni, 49, president and CEO of Coventry Connections, which ownsthe Blue Linetaxi company. Patnilives in Capital Ward, just south of downtown Ottawa.
• Hume Rogers, 49, general manger of the Capital Hill Hotel and Suites, and the co-ordinator of the Albert-Slater Coalition, which fought against the downtown portion of theproposed light rail line thatcity council cancelledin December. Rogers lives in the Carlingwood area.

O'Brien announced Friday that former federal transport minister David Collenette will chair the task force, which is to report back to the mayor by June 1.

Patni said the group will offer suggestions for both short- and long-term transportation planning.

"What the task force is going to be doing is looking at the whole thing afresh from the perspective of a group of people who have a lot of experience but have not been involved in the decision making on Ottawa's transportation scheme," he said.

David Jeanes,president ofthe advocacy group Transport 2000 Canada, praised thediversity of the task force, which includes his colleague Harry Gow.

"I can't see any particularly strong biases here," he said.

Councillors weigh in

But Coun. Alex Cullen noted that no city councillors were included.

"Had there been councillors on the mayor's task force, there would have been a direct relationship with council," he said. "Whoever was participating on the task force would be able to better explain the outcomes of the task force work and there would be better ownership."

'The problem that I have with this effort is that there's so much water under the bridge and I don't think you can ignore that.' Coun. Diane Deans

Coun. Diane Deans said the task force members' credentials are impressive, but she is concerned about the group's lack of transportation planning experience.

She also questioned whether the task force is necessary, considering a similar group advisedthe citybefore Ottawa-area municipalities amalgamated in 2001.

"The problem that I have with this effort is that there's so much water under the bridge and I don't think you can ignore that."