Hurst Hurts

He has got to be hurting now. Mike Hurst, CEO of DRTP, cannot be happy with the OMB decision on the Rail Lands By-Law. Effectively, the decision puts the fate of his corridor in a Council that is opposed to using the corridor for a truck expressway. No wonder DRTP transformed itself again into something new, into the "Green Solution."

The OMB rejected the DRTP arguments and held:

1. The City's Official Plan and Implementing By-laws are consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement
2. They also represent good planning since there was a need to deal with non-rail uses of rail lands
3. The City did not act in bad faith in adopting the Official Plan and by-laws to thwart DRTP but acted to protect the interest of the public
4. It is difficult to conclude that "Truck transport facilities" can mean a private toll road even if one looks at it broadly
5. The effect, if DRTP was right, was that DRTP could construct a toll road without further consideration of the Official Plan policies including the provision for an environmental assessment
6. Thousands of individuals along the corridor are entitled to notice if there is to be a "predesignation" since public participation is fundamental to the planning process.

Oh there will probably be an appeal. And the issue whether a municipality can pass by-laws impacting Rail lands is constitutional will have to be dealt with. But DRTP has been hit a terrible blow such that they cannot say that their corridor can be used at all right now.

So where are we?

• DRTP is not a probability and the possible use of its corridor is a non-starter for years to come
• DRIC is just about dead given the House and Senate Resolutions in Michigan.
• The Mayor of Detroit in a letter to the Governor has said what he wants.
• The US President has said that the Bridge Co. does not need a Presidential permit.
• The State Deparment refused to give its "concurrence in the conclusion that the [DRIC]centrally-located alternatives are the only practical alternatives for a new Detroit River International crossing.”
• In fact it said "“the proximity of any new crossing to the existing crossings may mean that a problem at any one crossing may affect all the centrally located crossings.” While the language is not the clearest it could be, State was saying that the location that DRIC wanted made no sense since problems could be created.
• The City of Windsor is on the outside looking in having made enemies of the Senior Levels
• I have heard that there seem to be no roadblocks to the Bridge Co.'s "enhancement" project from the federal or provincial perspective.

What can one conclude---the only project that can move forward is the Ambassador Bridge "enhancement" project.

And now all Eddie has to do is what he should have been doing and what he was elected to do. Stop playing politics and think you can be the Border King. Do your job as Mayor and fix the road to the Ambassador Bridge so this area can finally prosper before Sarnia and Fort Erie overtake us!