OC Transpo orders air fresheners removed from Parliament station

LRT air fresheners removed OC Transpo GM John Manconi orders Rideau Transit Group to remove devices that mask the foul smell in the stations. Tyler Fleming reports.

OTTAWA — Air fresheners installed at Parliament station will be removed.

In an early morning memo to Councillors and the media, Transportation Services General Manager John Manconi said “some of you have asked about the air fresheners at Parliament station. I have ordered that they be removed immediately.”

The air fresheners started appearing in the station earlier this week.

Citizen Transit Commissioner Sarah Wright-Gilbert asked OC Transpo to have Rideau Transit Maintenance remove the air fresheners, saying “these devices contravene the city’s policies regarding scents in the workplace and public spaces.”

“Transit peeps who are scent sensitive: you may want to avoid Parliament station because instead of solving the problem, RTM has decided to mask it with chemical air fresheners.”

Transit riders have complained for weeks about the foul smell at Rideau and Parliament stations.

Earlier this month, a memo to Councillors said Rideau Transit Group believes the smell at Rideau station was due to “stagnant water that is getting into the tunnel near the station.”