Ottawa Rapid Transit Network developments

[Dado]

Originally Posted by Richard Eade

OK now onto the Fallowfield proposal:

The current configuration has the shelters on alternate sides of a central crosswalk. There is only one stop per direction. The buses run along the central lane between the two sides of the Park & Ride lot. The entrances to the Park & Ride lots are south of the bus stops minimizing the traffic that pedestrians need to contend with.





And the so-called Improvement:


(Click for enlargement)

Double the bus storage area – now on both sides of the station; bus stops moved away from where the passengers enter the area; bus stops stacked on one side of an intersection forcing people transferring to walk around the end of the station; the “Raised Pedestrian Plaza” is the vehicle entrance to the VIA Station (Check out Google if you don’t think there are many cars that will cross the Pedestrian Plaza. http://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&hl=e...,0.009602&z=17 ); Park & Ride traffic is now along the central lane, giving more pedestrian / car interaction; and the added parking spaces are the farthest possible distance from the bus stops. The buses shown along the lane south of the west Park & Ride lot appear to be Express buses since they do not have any visible way to get back from the bus stops if they are local buses: So how do the local buses flow? Basically, there is nothing about this ‘Improvement’ that improves the experience for the riders; this station is being designed for bus movements along the Transitway.

Why is there no integration with the VIA Station? Couldn’t parking areas be shared so traffic doesn’t have to cross the Pedestrian Plaza? And, what’s with the Interim / Permanent shelters?

All good points - but most are not repeats of the same problems of Baseline either. The common element is really the lack of consideration for passenger movements/experience in the design of both.


I think there's too much space between the transit station and the train station - though it doesn't help that an OC Transpo building (a glorified outhouse) is in the way. Having said that, the space might be "needed" to create enough of an angle for a safe crossing of the tracks near Woodroffe.

I would also have put the transit station on the east side of the main 'street', since that puts it nearer the larger of the P&R lots, and, I think, more usefully placed generally. I would also have dispensed with using the 'street' for P&R traffic - I guess they couldn't conceive of narrowing it by removing lanes, although they could still have continued on using the bus lanes in their current role as bus lanes for use by expresses and local feeders rather than sending them around the outside. I really don't get the change vis-à-vis the P&R and access thereto.

An improvement for local buses would be to route them around the south and east sides of the east P&R lot and have them come up along the south side of the eastbound platform of the Transitway station (assuming it was relocated to the east side of the main street). That would allow cross-platform transfers in the morning. These buses would then be well-positioned to either turn left to leave by way of the main street or head west onto the transitway towards Fallowfield.

[Dado]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

True... maybe the real question should be why is a major transit/intermodal station surrounded by farm fields, a gas station, parking lots and drive through restaurants?

That would be VIA Rail and possibly a bit of CN & the NCC thrown in for good measure (though I'm sure Nepean & the RMOC approved).

Had it been up to me, I would have put it at Greenbank.

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by Richard Eade

And the so-called Improvement:


(Click for enlargement)

Double the bus storage area – now on both sides of the station; bus stops moved away from where the passengers enter the area; bus stops stacked on one side of an intersection forcing people transferring to walk around the end of the station; the “Raised Pedestrian Plaza” is the vehicle entrance to the VIA Station (Check out Google if you don’t think there are many cars that will cross the Pedestrian Plaza. http://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&hl=e...,0.009602&z=17 ); Park & Ride traffic is now along the central lane, giving more pedestrian / car interaction; and the added parking spaces are the farthest possible distance from the bus stops. The buses shown along the lane south of the west Park & Ride lot appear to be Express buses since they do not have any visible way to get back from the bus stops if they are local buses: So how do the local buses flow? Basically, there is nothing about this ‘Improvement’ that improves the experience for the riders; this station is being designed for bus movements along the Transitway.

Why is there no integration with the VIA Station? Couldn’t parking areas be shared so traffic doesn’t have to cross the Pedestrian Plaza? And, what’s with the Interim / Permanent shelters?

Sorry Richard, I think you're nitpicking and moaning for no reason here.
-the new stops had to be somewhere along the Transitway; if you look at the map, they are pretty much centered
-the new parking is added at pretty much the only place it can go
-the new stops are basically directly beside the crosswalk- it would hardly take very long to cross to the other side
-there is little reason for crossing to the other side anyway. If you look at the bottom of the map, you can see that the old access driveway for the west parking lot is now buses-only. That's how the local buses flow.

Local buses would use the new bus storage area east of the stops. They would start by servicing the outbound stop (i.e. the same stop you just arrived at on the 95), use the driveway out to the central road, to Fallowfield. On the way into the station, local buses would do the reverse and drop passengers off at the inbound stop, right where the next 95 would come by.

The only time anyone would need to cross from one side of the Transitway to another is if they just arrived from downtown on a 95, and then decided they wanted to go right back downtown again...

[Uhuniau]

John Baird: Let the foot-dragging continue!

http://ottawa.ctv.ca/servlet/an/loca...hub=OttawaHome

I've said it before, I'll say it again: Ottawa's federal and municipal politicians have a hate-on for their own city.

[Dado]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

John Baird: Let the foot-dragging continue!

http://ottawa.ctv.ca/servlet/an/loca...hub=OttawaHome

I've said it before, I'll say it again: Ottawa's federal and municipal politicians have a hate-on for their own city.

"Baird made the comments to CTV Ottawa on Wednesday during an unrelated $11-million announcement to upgrade rail lines across the country."

Too bad the Feds haven't made any attempt to ensure that the CPR's Chalk River and North Bay Subdivisions in the Ottawa Valley are secured for the future.

[waterloowarrior]

Barrhaven Marketplace Transitway March 2010) from TransitOttawa
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30500030@N07/4524458255/

[waterloowarrior]

http://communities.canada.com/OTTAWA...-to-begin.aspx

SENT ON BEHALF OF JOHN JENSEN, DIRECTOR, RAIL IMPLEMENTATION

La version française suivra sous peu.


Mayor and members of Council,

This e-mail is to advise you that the Geotechnical and Hydrogeological Investigation for the tunnel portion of Ottawa's Light Rail Transit (LRT) Plan is scheduled to commence on May 3, 2010 and run until mid-June.

The primary purpose of the Geotechnical and Hydrogeological Investigation will be to further advance our knowledge of the existing geology and groundwater conditions along the tunnel alignment. This information will inform the preliminary engineering and design of the LRT project.

A total of 23 geotechnical boreholes and 15 environmental boreholes will be drilled along the tunnel alignment. Work on each drill site will run from two to five days and on some locations minor traffic re-routing will be required.

Councillors of affected wards have been contacted and residents and businesses in proximity to the boring will be advised prior to commencement.

If you would like any further information, or if you have any questions please contact me at ext. 12764.

Thank you,

John Jensen

[c_speed3108]

They are going to rebuild the tracks.....

Gatineau transit rail line purchase keeps commuter-train dream alive


By Dave Rogers , The Ottawa Citizen May 1, 2010


Gatineau’s transit company has bought the rail line between the Prince of Wales rail bridge and Montée Paiement to build a busway, but its plans should hearten Ottawa transit advocates who still hope to see commuter trains cross the Ottawa River.

Spokeswoman Céline Gauthier said the Société de transport de l’Outaouais will pay Chemins de fer Québec-Gatineau Inc. $2.5 million for the 15-kilometre disused rail line. The STO plans to remove the track on land to complete a 12-station $233.5-million bus transitway by fall 2011.

But Gauthier said the STO will rebuild the rail line next to the Gatineau busway when the road is completed, in case the line is needed in the future. The STO will own the line through the Société de transport ferroviaire de Gatineau (Gatineau Railway Company).

The City of Ottawa owns the Prince of Wales Bridge, which links the STO’s new rail line with the current end of Ottawa’s O-Train line at Bayview. The city bought it from Canadian Pacific in 2004, with an eye to someday extending Ottawa’s rail service to collect and drop off passengers on the Gatineau side.

Gatineau has resisted, since it settled on a bus-based system for its transit future, but the STO’s promise to re-lay tracks to the bridge at least leaves open the possibility of a rail connection between the cities.

“We are working on a study of a link between the two cities with the National Capital Commission and the City of Ottawa,” Gauthier said. “The options for linking downtown Ottawa to the downtown Hull sector will be released this summer or fall.

“There will be several crossing options, but I can’t say what they will be. We don’t know yet whether one of the crossings could be the Prince of Wales Bridge which is owned by the City of Ottawa.”

Marie Lemay, the chief executive of the NCC, said the study will determine how to integrate the two transit systems.

“They are looking at a number of short-, medium- and long-term solutions and I hope we will be able to share those with the public in June,” Lemay said. “The Prince of Wales Bridge is definitely being considered in all the scenarios.

“Another thing that is being examined is a commuter loop around Confederation Boulevard. At the end of the day the STO and OC Transpo will have to agree with the results of the study because we can’t impose a solution.”

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Gatinea...#ixzz0mgjFodA1

.

[Aylmer]

Thank GOD.

[Dado]

The funniest part of this article was the picture and its blurb:



Whoever wrote this has either not lived in Ottawa long or is completely ignorant of history. We have absolutely not had transit "planners" hoping to run trains across the bridge to Gatineau (just about everyone else has suggested it, including even visitors from England whom I met once on the bridge wondering why it wasn't in use). That idea has been fought tooth and nail for the best part of a decade by the transit "planners" at City Hall and their external consultants. They didn't even want to buy the bridge itself but CP and Council forced their hand - and they promptly went back to ignoring its existence once it had been acquired.

[Cre47]

They have already started to rip the tracks off between Tache and Montcalm during the week.

[harls]

^ yep, and there has been machinery on site at the bridge crossing over Allumettières as well. looks like they are in the process of moving the bridge.

[danny the dog]

Ottawa-Gatineau rail loop picks up steam once again
2001 proposal under consideration, NCC head says
By Randall Denley, The Ottawa Citizen May 4, 2010

OTTAWA — The Loop’s time has finally come.

A National Capital Commission-led transportation report next month is expected to suggest that the major federal buildings and cultural institutions in Ottawa and Gatineau be connected by a light-rail loop. National Capital Commission chief executive Marie Lemay confirms that the idea is under consideration and other key players involved in the study say the NCC boss is a big fan of the plan.

The proposal is for a rail line that would follow the federal government’s Confederation Boulevard route and link the Parliament Buildings, the War Museum, Place du Portage, the Museum of Civilization and the National Gallery.

With the planned configuration of Ottawa’s new light-rail system, transit riders could easily connect to the Loop at either O’Connor or at the old Union Station.

The new light rail and the Loop would transform our downtown, says Councillor Peter Hume.

The reduction in car and bus traffic would make the downtown more attractive to both pedestrians and cyclists, he says.

Transit committee chairman, Councillor Alex Cullen, also likes the idea of the Loop, although he wants to see it extended farther west to cross into Quebec over the city-owned Prince of Wales Bridge.

The Société de transport de l’Outaouais (STO) buses “are hitting capacity on Wellington and Rideau. We have to do something,” Cullen says.

If the loop is ever to be built, the time is now, Cullen says. The city will be designing light-rail stations at LeBreton and Bayview. The city will need to include it in those plans.

The final numbers in the report are still being crunched, but OC Transpo boss Alain Mercier sees real advantages in the plan. His company and STO need to find a way to improve transit service downtown and reduce the problem of buses returning empty from the other city, he says.

If the rail plan isn’t seen as affordable right now, Mercier expects to see a bus-only loop that could be put in place quickly. “If it seems to make sense and it’s affordable, we’ll do it,” he says.

No Gatineau representative on the NCC-Gatineau-Ottawa project was available for comment. But, Cullen says, “the loop has been STO’s idea all along.”

This is an idea that is elegant in its simplicity and would have great benefit for the federal government and both cities. The federal policy that jobs and museums must be shared between Ottawa and Gatineau means the movement of a lot of people across the Ottawa River every day. More than 5,000 commuters come into the core of Ottawa from Gatineau during the morning rush hour and 2,000 go from Ottawa to Gatineau. That Gatineau-to-Ottawa route clogs Wellington Street with hundreds of diesel-fume-producing Outaouais buses every rush hour. Not much of a message to send for a federal government that says it believes in environmentally friendly transit.

For Ottawa and Gatineau, it would mean the cities’ two downtowns were finally linked with a transit system that would be simple and easy for anyone to use. There is an important tourism benefit as well.

Ideally, Ottawa’s museums would be within an easy walk of each other, but they are not. This rail loop would make it easy for tourists to get to the major sites.

The name goes back to a 2001 study that had all the usual government players at the table. The engineering firm McCormick Rankin spoke enthusiastically of linking the two downtowns by rail and dubbed the project the Loop. It said such a link would be useful for more than just commuter traffic.

“This link is merited for commercial, government and tourism purposes, particularly during off-peak periods,” the study said.

It anticipated light rail running at five-minute intervals. The report also says that a rail loop would generate increased transit ridership and produce more revenue while being cheaper to operate than the bus system we have today.

At the time, then-mayor Bob Chiarelli called the plan “exciting” and “world class.” The NCC chairman of the day, Marcel Beaudry, spoke in favour of it, too. Unfortunately, the federal Liberal government had no interest in paying the cost, estimated at the time as between $110 million and $200 million.

The Conservatives were somewhat more positive.

When he was transport minister in 2006, Lawrence Cannon said he would look seriously at the project if the cities could do all the work and get Ontario and Quebec to share in the cost. Not exactly leadership, but better than an outright no.

Now, the Loop is getting a second look. Since the Loop would run on a federal route and serve federal employment centres and federal institutions, maybe the federal government would like to take the lead for once. Ottawans stand ready to help.

[waterloowarrior]

the comments on that article are really bizzare

[Ottawan]

My favourite comments are those that criticize the concept as "loopy".

In all seriousness, I'm anxious to read the report, now that it finally seems forthcoming. I think a transit loop is the right way to go, but was hoping for one that could utilize Ottawa's transit tunnel. The surface rail loop could be good too (serve different areas, provide a better tourism function), but I'd like to see it extended to use the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge (and thus to serve the NRC/DFAIT employment hub, bring tourists to the Rideau Falls, & get reasonably close service to New Edinburgh and to Rideau Hall), and extended to the Prince of Wales bridge in the West (makes more sense than clogging the Portage Bridge, creates an easier transfer for those heading to Tunneys or west from Gatineau (makes more sense than the spur shown in the article), and provides service to the Montcalm/Brasserie area that Gatineau is trying to redevelop).

[Aylmer]

How serious is this? If this pie does come down from the stratosphere, I will have a geekasm.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Ottawan

...... The surface rail loop could be good too (serve different areas, provide a better tourism function), but I'd like to see it extended to use the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge (and thus to serve the NRC/DFAIT employment hub, bring tourists to the Rideau Falls, & get reasonably close service to New Edinburgh and to Rideau Hall), and extended to the Prince of Wales bridge in the West (makes more sense than clogging the Portage Bridge, creates an easier transfer for those heading to Tunneys or west from Gatineau (makes more sense than the spur shown in the article), and provides service to the Montcalm/Brasserie area that Gatineau is trying to redevelop).

I would agree re MacDonald-Cartier and King Edward on the east, but Prince of Wales seems very far west to serve the purpose being considered. I would also go for buses for now, given that any rail would likely be years away.

[Dado]

Using the Prince of Wales Bridge is the easiest way to intercept both the O-Train and the Rapibus corridors. It's also better for serving Terrasses de la Chaudière.

Even for tourists there are the views from the Prince of Wales Bridge/Lemieux Island of the entire skyline of the downtown NCR, not to mention the likely siting of the Museum of Science and Technology at Chaudière.

The challenge in picking a route is how to serve the War Museum on the way, which is where a route via Chaudière has an advantage.

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

the comments on that article are really bizzare

They are actually quite positive compared to the Citizen's normal comments.

I know the Gazette has stopped comments, since most of them were too negative or simply just full of bigotry.

It's what I call the Westmount syndrome. WASPs with too much time and money combined with extreme NIMBY-ism.

[waterloowarrior]

west side action has some pics of workers doing the test bore holes for the tunnel
http://westsideaction.blogspot.com/2...-downtown.html

also I went by the SW Transitway in Barrhaven and there seems to be a gravel base put down for the road (although I quickly looked out the window while driving so I'm not 100% on that)