Moose will do what GO has done to Toronto; it will allow people to live where hey choose and have a more comfortable commute without being a single vehicle occupant.
For their commute. Meanwhile, GO has also enabled car dependent communities to delay the consequences of their policies. It's no accident that GO has become the largest parking provider in North America. All those GO commuters are car dependent. A massive proportion of them access the station with their cars. And most of them are in two car families who use their cars for most trips other than commuting. The 905 is starting to feel the consequences as the development fees dwindled and infrastructure costs rise. Most of those 905 McMansions will hit 5 digit property tax bills in the next decade.
But at least in the GTA, the saving grace is that those sprawled out 905 communities are separate municipalities. Ottawa got really screwed over with amalgamation, when entirely rural areas were amalgamated with suburban areas and the urban centre into one entity. This means sprawl in Kanata Or Stittsville is raising everyone's taxes. Imagine, if a North Yorker or downtown resident had to pay much higher taxes bills because of Mississauga's sprawl. As a result, property taxes are ridiculous in Ottawa, especially for those who live inside the greenbelt.
Ottawa already has a significant problem with sprawl. With transit actually enabling it. Just like GO in Toronto. It will get worse with the LRTs. The current LRT developments will reduce travel time from the suburbs a bit. But it will also offer a vastly better travel experience from the burbs. If you're starting in Kanata or Orleans, you'll get a seat. And you'll have nice commuter parking lots to park. That's a great commute experience. Everyone in the urban area by contrast will be getting on to packed LRT after taking a bus. In Toronto's context think of 905'ers boarding at Finch and Vaughan while everyone at Sheppard or Eglinton gets screwed. With the LRT going to Trim Rd in the East and Moodie in the West, and Bowesville in the South, people are going to be encouraged to live further east, west and south.
It should be noted that regional trains don't have to be sprawl inducing. We could have policies that build nice, cute, dense little town all over the Ottawa Valley. But we all know there's no hope of that happening. A house in Stittsville or Orleans is reasonably affordable. Anybody moving to the areas that MOOSE would like to service, is moving there to get acreage. They aren't moving there because of housing affordability concerns. And just like many GO users, they'll create sprawling car dependent communities where their only use of transit is for commuting. Unlike the 905 though, this would be sprawl on steroids though. There's no cost constraint to buying an acre lot in Richmond or Kinburn. This won't be GTA style sprawl. This will American style exurban sprawl.
