[AuxTown]

I agree that the environmentally sensitive areas of the Greenbelt such as Mer Bleu, Old Quarry Trail, Stoney Swamp etc. should be preserved at all cost, but much of the area surrounding Ottawa is farmland. Specifically, the area just West of Bayshore and North of Barhaven along Woodroofe strike me as perfect spots for development. These areas are already served by high-frequency public transit and are along major arterial roads. It's funny that many people would protest such development for environmental reasons, but they fail to realize the amount of farmland (arguably more appropriately located) is disappearing outside of the city in Carp, Carleton Place, Riverside South, etc. Who decided that those agricultural areas within the city are so much more important than those outside the city? It's sheer selfishness to force people to move further and further into exurbia, lengthening commutes, and increasing the cost to service new homes when there is perfectly good land within the city along major transit corridors just waiting to be developed. And don't get me even started on the Experimental Farm, a strip of which along Baseline and along Carling should have been developed 20 years ago!