A local environmental group is rallying the city’s transit users to help them ask the city to speed transit talks.
So far, hundreds of people have signed Ecology Ottawa’s online petition, which calls for an end to the transit strike.
The petition, which launched earlier this week, will be presented to council members a week from today, said Ecology Ottawa steering committee member Mike Buckthought.
“We need all parties to sit down at the negotiating table and produce a fair deal that will end the transit strike and get our city moving again,” the petition reads.
For environmentally conscious city residents, the ongoing strike is discouraging to their efforts, said Buckthought, a transit user and cyclist.
“You really see the consequences of relying too much on cars,” he said.
“We’re seeing increased emissions of carbon dioxide and pollutants such as nitrogen oxides. I think with the increased air pollution, you will likely see increased incidence of respiratory disease,” he said. “Cars are just not an environmentally friendly way to travel.”
From an environmental standpoint, a transit strike is the opposite of what the city needs, said Buckthought.
“By putting more cars on the road, we see increases in traffic and increases in air pollution,” said Buckthought.
The petition can be found at www.ecologyottawa.ca.
