Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli. (Darren Brown, OBJ)

The city of Ottawa unveiled its much-maligned light rail transit plan to councillors and the general public Wednesday, during an afternoon open house meant to dispel criticism that's been leveled at the proposal.

Presented was the proposed north-south line expected to connect the University of Ottawa, Rideau Centre, the downtown core and Carleton University with Riverside South and the Barrhaven Town Centre.

The proposed route is expected to be 29.4 kilometres long, with 22 electrified LRT vehicles, 23 stations and three new park-and-ride facilities. The city says it expects 3,100 direct construction-related new jobs from the project, and another 5,500 jobs indirectly throughout the planned 40-month construction process.

Mayor Bob Chiarelli defended the city's plan, explaining its being expedited in connection with other issues like a $30 million re-investment in the current east-west transit way.

He said building the north-south route first, instead of a Kanata-to-Orleans route, is practical and makes sense.

"We already have a billion dollars invested in east-west transit," he said. "North-south has not had much transit. So, for many reasons, it was right to start and not the least of which is that we have a proven pilot project in the north-south at the present time.

"Were looking forward, very very much, to the public open houses, the consultation process, the tough questioning we're going to get from councillors," he said, adding that different stages of the plan have collectively passed through 35 council votes.

"And it's carried every one of those votes, and every one of them has been very hotly debated with a lot of tough questioning from council, and that's the way it should be," he said. "Something that's this important needs to go through the mill, and needs to be assessed from every possible angle before we proceed."

He dismissed questions from journalists as to whether the project could end up topping $1 billion, a number that's been cited by rival politicians and community groups alike.

"It's absolutely incorrect, and it's totally politicizing the issue to use those types of untrue numbers."