Alto is extending its initial online public consultation period on the proposed high-speed rail network between Québec City and Toronto by almost another month, and offering two additional virtual consultation sessions.
On Wednesday (March 11), the Crown corporation announced the online consultation period — originally set from January 15 to March 29 — is being extended until Monday, April 24. The decision was made “due to a high level of participation and sustained public interest,” according to a media release from Alto.
There will also be two additional virtual sessions held from 7 to 8:45 p.m. on March 23 (in English) and March 26 (in French), following what was originally to be the final virtual session on March 17 (in French).
“Public consultation is a valuable opportunity for dialogue with the population, grounded in transparency and active listening,” states Pierre Yves Boivin, Alto’s chief officer of communications and public affairs, in the release.
“The success of the current process demonstrates how important the Alto project is to citizens. Every question and every comment help inform our analyses and better integrate the project into local communities. We encourage the public to continue making their voices heard by visiting our online consultation platform and taking part in our upcoming virtual sessions on March 17, 23, and 26.”
Alto’s online consultation platform at www.altotrain.ca/en/public-consultation allows the public to review all available information about the project, explore the study corridor map and submit comments, complete an online questionnaire, and submit a brief or written submission.
According to Alto, the online consultation platform has so far seen 184,339 unique visits, 14,774 completed questionnaires, and 10,420 comments submitted on the corridor map.
In addition to online consultation, Alto has held 26 in-person open houses across Québec and Ontario with a total attendance of 9,194 participants to date — including 815 people who attended the Peterborough open house on February 26 — and 10 bilingual virtual meetings in French and English with 1,299 participants to date.
Also has also held 35 roundtables with stakeholders and numerous meetings with elected officials along the corridor.
Alto says the feedback from public consultations will help “guide decisions and better illustrate the realities of the communities served, which all contributes to the goal of maximizing the project’s benefits.” Additional rounds of public consultation will be held in the coming months, particularly on the more detailed study corridor for the first segment planned between Montréal and Ottawa.
The largest public infrastructure project in Canada in recent history, Alto’s high-speed rail project will see trains reaching 300 km/h or more on an electrified rail network spanning around 1,000 kilometres between Toronto and Quebec City, with stops including Peterborough, Ottawa, Montréal, Laval, Trois-Rivières.
Despite its touted benefits of driving economic growth by slashing travel times (including to 40 minutes between Peterborough and Toronto), enhancing connectivity, and creating job opportunities for all communities along the corridor, the project has already faced pushback early in the consultation process.
Some of the concerns raised include the location of Alto stops and train stations, how potential routes could affect property owners, agricultural lands, rural communities, and the environment, land acquisition and expropriation, and the estimated project cost of between $60 billion and $90 billion.
