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City officials will soon decide on the design to be used in the upcoming reconstruction of Elgin Street, and their current policy requires that it be reconfigured to become a “complete street,” meaning it endeavours to accommodate equitably the needs of all users.

But it is unlikely that this objective can be met without the additional width that would be provided by burying Elgin’s hydro wires and removing their poles, which was a popular proposal during the public consultation on that project.

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While there will be some opposition to doing so because of cost, the due diligence expected of our mayor and city councillors requires that they not reject it without first answering some key questions, such as:

The 2011 report on which present city policy largely preventing the burying of hydro lines is based includes an explicit exemption of Elgin Street from that prohibition if there can be a positive return on investment (combined financial and community/social impact). What progress has been made in determining that the Elgin Street project qualifies for this exemption? There is apparently some confusion about what the net incremental cost would be to bury the wires as part of the Elgin Street redesign (guesses range from $2 million to $10 million). What is the best estimate of that cost and how does it compare with the equivalent net cost incurred when the wires were buried while redesigning the downtown section of Bank Street several years ago? Coun. Catherine McKenney, whose ward includes Elgin Street, told community constituents she was consulting with local business representatives, who could benefit commercially from the increased “destination status” Elgin would gain as a “complete street,” to determine what level of support they might provide for burying the hydro lines. What success has she had in that exploration? The National Capital Commission has committed to work with the city in enhancing the quality of design for “streets at the edges of Confederation Boulevard,” notably including Elgin Street. What has the city learned from consultations with the NCC and Catherine McKenna, the Ottawa-Centre MP, about possible federal support for burying Elgin’s wires? While burying the wires on Elgin would certainly produce environmental improvements (such as less visual pollution and fewer trees felled) it should also yield economic benefits from lessening the frequency and severity of power outages (which have been increasing in the Elgin area) and reducing the costs incurred for maintenance, repair and replacement. What annual savings in such expenditures could be expected from burying the wires, and what would be the budgetary impact of factoring them into the net incremental cost of doing so? It is reasonable to expect the city will review its own financial plans for possible reallocations to help meet the costs of burying the wires on Elgin Street. What funds for this purpose can be identified for transfer within the budgets of the city in general and the Elgin project in particular, such as cosmetic embellishments, more questionable public art, other items that are less substantial and sustainable than burying the wires and removing the poles would be?

The redesign of Elgin Street provides Ottawa with a very rare and precious opportunity to bring one of its few “main” streets up to the standards of those in other major national capitals. Burying the wires and removing the poles would be an essential component, and it is difficult to see how the city’s aspiration to reconfigure Elgin as a true “complete street” can possibly be met without doing so.

Robin Farquhar served on the 1993 Ottawa Centretown Revitalization Group and was a member of Walk Ottawa’s original steering committee.