Merchants on Ottawa’s
historic Sparks Street mall have proposed building an electric streetcar
line from Confederation Square to LeBreton Flats to help invigorate the
area. Advocates believe the trolleys would bring shoppers and tourists to
the downtown street, which has been the target of several failed
redevelopment schemes. The line would be basic, according to the Sparks
Street Heritage Streetcar Committee, running just one mile (1.6 km) on a
single track with a couple of passing sidings and using three small
antique-style cars. “Part of our heritage is on that street and the beauty
of it is that we can put together this line for relatively little money,”
committee co-chairwoman and restaurant owner Holly Layte told the Ottawa
Citizen. Layte said the project can’t be successful without support from
the city and the National Capital Commission. The proposal will be
presented to the mall authority’s board of directors and, if approved, will
be forwarded to relevant public agencies.
