Roads/Bridges projects/issues

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

I find this ironic that they have to cut all the mature trees down to do this construction. Years ago, they did the same thing when they widened Main Street at the time of the opening of the Smyth Road bridge. It had been previously a beautiful shaded street.

They did the same thing when they removed the streetcars on Sunnyside. Shortly afterwards, they widened the street a few feet and cut all the mature trees down.

So, to 'improve' the street, we lose all our mature trees, and the new trees probably won't have a chance with all the snow removal and chemicals that they put on the streets today.

??

The chemicals used today are way friendlier to the natural environment than the ones used in the 1960s/1970s. If trees could grow then, they can definitely grow now.

Tree regrowth is progressing very well on Wellington Street in Kingston, rebuilt in 2008 with all its trees cut down at the time.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

??

The chemicals used today are way friendlier to the natural environment than the ones used in the 1960s/1970s. If trees could grow then, they can definitely grow now.

Tree regrowth is progressing very well on Wellington Street in Kingston, rebuilt in 2008 with all its trees cut down at the time.

Ha, I really don't see that. I see the impact on trees in my own neighbourhood and on my own front lawn. It is still devastating.

The mature trees I am talking about were planted before they started applying a lot of chemicals.

As it stands, the tree cover that formerly lined both Main and Sunnyside never recovered compared to what existed previously and that is after 50 years.

From what I have seen, the city is more dependant on chemicals than ever. It saves them labour letting chemicals melt snow instead of plowing as often.

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Ha, I really don't see that. I see the impact on trees in my own neighbourhood and on my own front lawn. It is still devastating.

The mature trees I am talking about were planted before they started applying a lot of chemicals.

As it stands, the tree cover that formerly lined both Main and Sunnyside never recovered compared to what existed previously and that is after 50 years.

From what I have seen, the city is more dependant on chemicals than ever. It saves them labour letting chemicals melt snow instead of plowing as often.

Oh, so mature trees before, say, 1960? Well yes they would do way better as the mass use of chemical salts began in the 1960s.

The city uses far more salting now than it ever has, but the road salt used nowadays is less environmentally harmful. The net impact is probably either equal or slightly less severe. It would depend on the street, though.

Ottawa does do **WAY** more salting than anywhere else I've been to, it's excessive. Especially the salting done for late season snowfalls when it's going to melt within a few hours.. a couple years back I saw them do pre-emptive salting for an overnight forecast of 5cm in mid-April It's those late season saltings that are probably more harmful for the plants as they've started thawing out by then.

The city thinks they're saving money this way, but they actually aren't, because all this salting damages the infrastructure and shortens the time until it has to be replaced which ends up costing more.

Kingston adopted a "salt diet" policy a while back, salting is now done much more sparingly. Come to think of it, I wonder if that's why tree regrowth has done better there.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Oh, so mature trees before, say, 1960? Well yes they would do way better as the mass use of chemical salts began in the 1960s.

The city uses far more salting now than it ever has, but the road salt used nowadays is less environmentally harmful. The net impact is probably either equal or slightly less severe. It would depend on the street, though.

Ottawa does do **WAY** more salting than anywhere else I've been to, it's excessive. Especially the salting done for late season snowfalls when it's going to melt within a few hours.. a couple years back I saw them do pre-emptive salting for an overnight forecast of 5cm in mid-April It's those late season saltings that are probably more harmful for the plants as they've started thawing out by then.

The city thinks they're saving money this way, but they actually aren't, because all this salting damages the infrastructure and shortens the time until it has to be replaced which ends up costing more.

Kingston adopted a "salt diet" policy a while back, salting is now done much more sparingly. Come to think of it, I wonder if that's why tree regrowth has done better there.

I agree that salting is done way too often, although I doubt "modern" salt is better for trees than mad men salt, it is all sodium chloride.

One difference is there is a lot more infrastructure under roads which gives roots less room.

[McC]

Originally Posted by acottawa

it is all sodium chloride.

not quite, the rock salt is some mix of NaCl and CaCl
http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/transp.../salt-and-sand

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by acottawa

I agree that salting is done way too often, although I doubt "modern" salt is better for trees than mad men salt, it is all sodium chloride.

One difference is there is a lot more infrastructure under roads which gives roots less room.

Until about ~1980 there used to be all sorts of crazy chemicals in road salt.

[lrt's friend]

Apparently calcium chloride is less toxic to plants than sodium chloride. However, I have seen extensive roadside damage this year this suggests that the use of sodium chloride to melt ice is still predominate. This is probably due to the low cost of sodium chloride in comparison to other ice melters.

[Kitchissippi]

Took this the other day, Booth Street is almost unrecognizable with all the excavation:



This bike path, oops MUP, is probably fully open now, I snuck in to avoid the sharrow hell on Albert

[rocketphish]

Battle brewing over proposed Walkley-parkway off-ramp

By Erin McCracken
Ottawa South News, Jun 11, 2015

A proposed southbound off-ramp to Walkley Road from the Airport Parkway is back on the table, and is the reason why longtime Riverside Park resident Bob Laird is rallying his neighbours to oppose the plan.

Laird, who has lived in his Walkley Road home between Bank Street and Riverside Drive since 1969, said the off-ramp will bring more traffic to the already congested area, a residential community he said is suffering from heavy rush-hour traffic, speeding and cut-through motorists.

Laird has handed out about 250 notices to people in his area in advance of a June 17 public open house about design options being considered for the widening of the Airport Parkway and Lester Road. A 21-month environmental assessment of the project is now underway.

“The idea of trying to handle traffic by just adding roads and bridges, it never works. It can’t work because then people will start to use it,” said Laird.

When the Brookfield Road exit off the parkway was built north of Walkley, it funnelled more cars to Riverside Drive, which is now backed up during peak commute times, as a result, Laird said.

Today, Walkley Road is a busy commuter thoroughfare, and will only get worse with a new parkway exit, said Laird.

“(The off-ramp) will just increase speeding in the off hours and increase the amount of cars in the peak hours.

“What you find out always, and that happened with the Hunt Club Bridge, is as soon as you build something new or bigger, it’s immediately filled up. And the Hunt Club Bridge, the first day it opened, was too small,” he said.

Safety for residents remains top of mind for Laird, just as it did in 1997 when he banded with others in his community to form the West Walkley Residents’ Action Committee.

“People do not realize it’s a residential area,” he said of cut-through motorists.

Together, they opposed the idea of a parkway exit in 2001, and advocated to bring to light worrisome traffic issues, such as speeding in the 50-kilometre-per-hour zone, where there are four schools.

He suspects traffic on Walkley has doubled since then. Today, there are “huge lineups” of vehicles trying to turn left onto McCarthy Road from Walkley before and after work.

“And that would simply increase if we had this off-ramp because that would be one of the routes people would be going for,” said Laird.

The councillor representing the area agrees the off-ramp would have repercussions for residents in his ward, especially those living on Walkley and Southmore, Thorndale and Provost drives.

“The fear is cars will come off of the off-ramp and they will head west on Walkley, and they will either cut through Southmore or McCarthy,” said River Coun. Riley Brockington. “We’re going to put large volumes of cars on streets that were never meant for that volume.”

Expanding the parkway should be “a last resort,” one that is only considered after public-transit ridership is built up, Brockington said, adding that widening the parkway and Lester Road from two to four lanes will have the opposite effect.

The extension of the Trillium light-rail line to south Ottawa communities, such as Riverside South, is included in phase two of the city’s light-rail project, which still needs to secure funding.

“You’re going to make the parkway more attractive to people to drive. What is their incentive going to be to take public transportation when we extend the O-Train?” he said.

An interview and information request regarding the proposed off-ramp was not provided by the city before press time.

The open house takes place Wednesday, June 17 from 6 to 8:30 p.m., with a presentation at 7 p.m., at the Jim Durrell Recreation Centre, located at 1265 Walkley Rd.

Comments on the environmental assessment can be submitted to Colin Simpson, senior project manager with the city’s transportation planning department, by emailing colin.simpson@ottawa.ca, or calling 613-580-2424, ext. 27881.

For more details on the project, visit ottawa.ca/airportparkway.

http://www.ottawacommunitynews.com/n...kway-off-ramp/

[rocketphish]

Councillors invite residents to envision better Beechwood Avenue

By Alex Robinson
Ottawa East News, Jun 17, 2015

Although Beechwood Avenue is not scheduled to be rebuilt any time soon, two city councillors are appealing to residents to envision ways transportation can improve along the corridor.

Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury and Rideau-Rockcliffe Coun. Tobi Nussbaum have scheduled a meeting on June 24 to discuss how the street can be altered to better accommodate pedestrians and cyclists.

“We really want to have an opportunity to discuss with residents how to reconfigure Beechwood Avenue to be a safer street for all forms of transportation,” Nussbaum said.

“We want to obtain a range of ideas and to engage the public with this kind of brainstorming exercise at this early stage.”

Nussbaum said while the city’s short term infrastructure plan does not include rebuilding the road, there could be opportunities for piecemeal improvements. For example, the city could consider widening the right of way as redevelopments occur along the road in order to widen bike lanes or sidewalks.

The councillor said everything is on the table for discussion, from a review of parking to the number of vehicle lanes that flow in each direction on the street. Other ways to improve the pedestrian experience could include building little parkettes on the side of the street, he said.

Nussbaum added the ultimate goal down the road could be to turn Beechwood Avenue into a complete street.

“Our goal is always to have a complete street. The question is whether we have the manoeuvrability and the space to do it well,” he said. “What can we do within the limits of those constraints is make sure we’re improving safety for all users.”

The street is currently part of the east-west bikeway and has a large amount of vehicular traffic flowing to and from the Vanier Parkway.

It has seen its fair share of serious accidents in the recent past. In 2014 an 81-year-old man died after he was hit by a school bus at the corner of Beechwood Avenue and Springfield Road.

“There have been a number of very serious incidents on the street that demonstrate the need for safety along that stretch of Beechwood,” Nussbaum said.

The meeting will be from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Dining Hall of Chartwell New Edinburg Square, at 420 MacKay St.

For additional information email tobi.nussbaum@ottawa.ca or mathieu.fleury@ottawa.ca.

http://www.ottawacommunitynews.com/n...chwood-avenue/

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

The councillor said everything is on the table for discussion, from a review of parking to the number of vehicle lanes that flow in each direction on the street. Other ways to improve the pedestrian experience could include building little parkettes on the side of the street, he said.

UGH, Seriously!!! Parkettes on the side of the street? That's going to somehow make Beechwood friendlier???

How about some more damn signalized crossings, and ones that actually change, so people can actually cross the street to get to bus stops without waiting forever for a billion cars to pass by?

Ottawa's determination to completely avoid the issue of street crossing is frustrating. Like that public realm plan for the Rideau/Arts Court area... went on and on about wider sidewalks and trees and benches but didn't mention street crossings once.

[Buggys]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

UGH, Seriously!!! Parkettes on the side of the street? That's going to somehow make Beechwood friendlier???

How about some more damn signalized crossings, and ones that actually change, so people can actually cross the street to get to bus stops without waiting forever for a billion cars to pass by?

Ottawa's determination to completely avoid the issue of street crossing is frustrating. Like that public realm plan for the Rideau/Arts Court area... went on and on about wider sidewalks and trees and benches but didn't mention street crossings once.

...Signalized crossings that change to walk immediately upon pressing the button.

[MoreTrains]

Originally Posted by Buggys

...Signalized crossings that change to walk immediately upon pressing the button.

But wouldnt that involve a black cloud of doom and the megadeaths of children in the area?

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by Buggys

...Signalized crossings that change to walk immediately upon pressing the button.

Non-automatic signalized crosswalks in Kingston do this. Once the button is pushed, the traffic light immediately starts changing (on midblock crossings, it immediately goes yellow for cars!). The only qualification is that after the walk cycle is finished and the light is green again, there's an 18 second lockout where it can't be activated again... so if someone pushes the button again during that 18 second period, it will wait until those 18 seconds are up.

Furthermore, in the central area of Kingston almost every single light is automatic (automatically changing every 18-24 seconds depending on the light), with push buttons generally resigned to the suburban arterials.

It really makes a huge difference in making it easier to cross the street and it's one of the first things I noticed when moving from Kingston to Ottawa.

[rocketphish]

Via Rail hoping to present funding options for dedicated passenger rail line by end of 2015

Damon van der Linde, Financial Post 06.29.2015

MONTREAL – The CEO of VIA Rail, Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, said Tuesday the Crown corporation is discussing private funding with potential investors for a $3 billion dedicated passenger track over the summer and will bring proposals to its sole shareholder — the federal government — by the end of the year, or early 2016.

Desjardins-Siciliano said VIA will be meeting with the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, which he describes as “the usual suspects who invest in passenger rail across the world,” in order to gauge interest in providing funds to build the Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto line.

“In Canada it just so happens that in the past 30 years we have developed world-class expertise in public private partnerships that have made some of our largest pension funds invest in passenger rail services in England, in Europe and across Canada,” said Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, CEO of VIA Rail, after delivering a speech to the Institut pour le partenariat public-privé in Montreal.

Desjardins-Siciliano said the potential investors could also come from outside Canada and that the final decision for partnerships in the project would be left to the government.

“Our task is to bring our shareholder options as to ways to do this. If our shareholder wishes to do it and who ultimately bids and wins the competition is left to the market and the government procurement rules,” he said.

“We’re not taking anything for granted and we’re not setting the table for anything other than what is the best solution at the cheapest cost to the Canadian taxpayer.”

Desjardins-Siciliano expects the return on investment for the project to be in the “mid-teens” and that construction would be completed within five years of establishing a partnership.

He said that VIA sharing the tracks with several companies transporting merchandise is slowing down the potential frequency of the faster passenger trains because of increased traffic.

Between 2010 and 2014, the number of people using VIA Rail’s services dropped from 4.1 million to 3.8 million. The company’s deficit reached $317 million.

“VIA Rail is an increasing burden on Canada’s taxpayers due to deteriorating on-time performance and the lack of frequencies to be relevant,” said Desjardins-Siciliano.

He said that in a second phase, the tracks could be extended east from Montreal towards Quebec City, and west from Toronto to London.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Rail+ho...666/story.html

[rocketphish]

Huntmar Drive overpass unfriendly to bikes, pedestrians, residents say
Huntmar Drive overpass too narrow, lacks sidewalks, community association says

CBC News Posted: Jul 16, 2015 6:07 AM ET Last Updated: Jul 16, 2015 8:20 AM ET



Residents who live near the Tanger Outlets mall and the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa are calling for better pedestrian access across Highway 417.

The Huntmar Drive overpass connects the two Kanata landmarks but it was designed and built before thousands of people moved into homes nearby.

The narrow thoroughfare lacks sidewalks and is dangerous to bike across, said Joe Boughner of the Fairwinds Community Association.

"[It] was never designed with pedestrian or cycle traffic in mind," said Boughner, whose group wants the city to convert part of the overpass to alternating one-way traffic.

Ginger Newman, who lives in the Fairwinds neighbourhood just south of the arena, said people do try to walk across the overpass anyway but she won't.

"If somebody gets hurt crossing it, it affects everybody," said Newman.

Coun. Shad Qadri, whose Stittsville ward includes the area, said city staff are looking into some of the residents' ideas.

There are concerns, however, about whether a major alteration to the bridge could affect traffic patterns, Qadri added.

"Whatever we do has to be safe, not just for pedestrians but everyone who uses that bridge — the vehicles and the cyclists and so forth," said Qadri.

A new bridge is too expensive right now and likely couldn't be built until 2026, he said.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...-say-1.3154014

[eltodesukane]

"[It] was never designed with pedestrian or cycle traffic in mind,"

Why? Who design those things? Design 101?

[Mulder]

Originally Posted by eltodesukane

"[It] was never designed with pedestrian or cycle traffic in mind,"

Why? Who design those things? Design 101?

Designed and built in a time when there was literally nothing around the area. (prior to 1991). Seriously, look at aerial maps.

It's like saying why isn't there a sidewalk on Kinburn Side Road overpass, Galetta Side road or Panmure Road. Yet no one is questioning those ones.

Even some brand new overpasses on the 407 are not being designed to accommodate sidewalks, simply because the predicted future pedestrian traffic doesn't warrant it.

[waterloowarrior]

^ yep - the OMB approvals for the Palladium only came in 1991 and everything around it was prime agricultural.

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by Mulder

Designed and built in a time when there was literally nothing around the area. (prior to 1991). Seriously, look at aerial maps.

It's like saying why isn't there a sidewalk on Kinburn Side Road overpass, Galetta Side road or Panmure Road. Yet no one is questioning those ones.

Even some brand new overpasses on the 407 are not being designed to accommodate sidewalks, simply because the predicted future pedestrian traffic doesn't warrant it.

Yes, I agree.

However, in the case of Huntmar, that bridge was designed in the 1970s, by which time it should have clear that the Huntmar Road area would be urbanized within a few decades.

The massive failure of the planners and public of the 1960s and 1970s to see or even care about anything in the future continues to bite us in the ass.

MTO shouldn't be putting sidewalks on rural overpasses.. unless it's apparent the area could/will be urban before the end of life of the bridge. Nowadays with the improved technology & design, that's a hundred years, so they might as well just protect the space on every bridge just in case.