Published April 25, 2024

Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

The long-awaited tramway project has sprung a debate between mayoral candidates on whether the project should become a reality.

With still no word from the federal government, independent candidate Daniel Feeny proposed abandoning the expensive tramway project for alternative mobility solutions like a Rapibus network. “The wait has been long enough,” Feeny wrote on Facebook. “Pragmatic and financially responsible solutions are now needed.”

For the head of Action Gatineau, Maude Marquis-Bissonnette, abandoning the tramway would mean abandoning the residents in the west and “the future development of all of Gatineau.”

“The conclusion is clear: the tramway is the best solution for the future of mobility in our city,” Marquis-Bissonnette wrote to Facebook. “My commitment to improving public transportation throughout Gatineau begins now, with a team convinced of this vision.”

The party head said that a Rapibus system would not be able to meet Gatineau’s future needs. The Société de transport de l’Outaouais came to the same conclusion, as the west end population was projected to grow more than 50 per cent by 2050.

When it came to talks of abandonment, Feeny pointed the finger back at the political party, stating that Action Gatineau “has regularly neglected the essential needs” of those in the west.

“The abandonment of all these projects in the west took place in the last mandate of Action Gatineau when the current leader of the party was councillor of the Plateau district. My approach is clear: as an independent candidate, I am sensitive to what I hear from the population, not just from party members,” Feeny wrote in a press release.

Photo caption: As Gatineau continues to wait for a financial commitment from the federal government, independent mayoral candidate Daniel Feeny suggests scrapping the project to focus on transportation that would meet residents’ needs.

Photo credit: Bureau de projet Tramway Gatineau-Ottawa website

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