Candidate, Ottawa mayor want to see money dedicated for Stage 3 light rail

Ottawa light rail.

City of Ottawa

More light rail is at the center of provincial elections in Ottawa.

Ontario Liberal leader Steven Del Duca said if he wins he would use 50% of provincial funding for Stage 3 of the city’s regional transit plan, which would include extending light rail into Kanata and Barrhaven.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson let provincial party leaders know last week that he wants them to commit 50% of Stage 3 LRT funding to extending the Confederation Line. The project would build a route into Kanata and Stittsville and from Baseline Station to Barrhaven Town Centre.

Back in 2018 a study put the cost at lengthening LRT from Moodie Drive to Kanata and Stittsville at $1.8 billion. A study in 2020 said running light rail to Barrhaven and separating VIA rail tracks from transit would cost $3 billion.

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