Stage 2 ION report unveiled
Posted Jun 16, 2017 05:37:24 PM.
Last Updated Jun 18, 2017 08:51:17 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The mood in Preston is somber to say the least, as more information came out today about the proposed route to bring light rail transit into Cambridge.
A report on the controversial phase two of the ION project was unveiled Friday afternoon and says several themes emerged from recent public consultations — the most frequently cited concern being the collateral impact on homes in Preston.
The proposed route puts several homes and businesses in the area of Eagle and Pinebush at risk of being expropriated by the region and completely destroyed to make room for the tracks.
Speaking with The Mike Farwell Show today, Regional Councillor for Cambridge Helen Jowett said she didn’t think the preferred route would be substantially altered.
“We have to consider the best route that will stimulate investment. Reduce that urban sprawl that we talk about, and produce the ridership opportunities,” Jowett says. “Those are a lot of different factors that have to be considered, which make it — not a black-and-white issue — but a complicated issue.”
The report says those concerns were heard loud and clear, noting the project team is now considering alternative designs and will be further exploring previously identified routes, to minimize and mitigate that property collateral damage.
But Lorie Henry with the “Stop the LRT thru Preston” lawn sign campaign tells us residents are not satisfied with the report’s findings or comments.
“This route was proposed almost overnight. They weren’t giving the other alternatives their due justice,” she says. “It’s extremely imperative that they look at alternative routes and not just pay lip service.”
The report will be brought before the region’s planning and works committee on Tuesday, but no decisions on Stage 2 will be made. More public consultations are planned for early next year.
Henry adds residents want the LRT, just not in the quiet, residential area that’s being proposed.
“When I start to read this [report], I read that they are starting to listen, but I don’t know if it’s enough,” Henry says. “We need someone to realize how desperate some of these people are. They’re going to lose everything they have, and that’s not fair.”
