Ottawa Confederation Line LRT (City of Ottawa, U/C)

[AnarchoSocialist]

And because the system was built as grade-separated from Day 1 (well, the vast majority of the system), the upgrade to LRT results in an LRT system that is closer to the subway end of the LRT spectrum than the streetcar end (as Transit City is).

However, I don't see why they're rebuilding the stations, given that they're already a pretty decent size, and have platforms that are long enough for LRT already. I'm sure there's a reason though, I just don't know what it is off the top of my head.

And a lot of the sections that are not grade separated or need to be rebuilt for LRT (Baseline Station, The Queensway to Bayshore section as examples) are underway or will start soon. Once the tunnel and first section are done (and Tunneys to Lincoln Fields is figured out) then it will be remarkably easy to expand the system quickly.

Most stations have been designed for LRT. They are even made so that shelter post are on a foot high concrete stump so that concrete can just be poured in to accomodate the higher floor height. Only those stations that require some sort of realignment of the transitway or to accomdate and grade separate LRT, such as Baseline, are being redone.

Ottawa did BRT right. And the LRT plan they have come up with is equally as good.

 

[hbl33]

Is it just me, or is rest of Canadian cities (and possibly Winnipeg, if it ever approves) are doing LRT right as opposed to T.O.?
Ottawa is approaching to the leagues of Edmonton/Calgary in LRT developments, is it?

 

[gweed123]

Is it just me, or is rest of Canadian cities (and possibly Winnipeg, if it ever approves) are doing LRT right as opposed to T.O.?
Ottawa is approaching to the leagues of Edmonton/Calgary in LRT developments, is it?

They are. And they are doing true LRT, not glorified streetcars with a slightly higher capacity down the middle of an avenue.

 

[AnarchoSocialist]

I know how NIMBY Glebe residents can be. But that doesn't make a Bank St LRT any less viable, it's the main north-south spine through the city. Another corridor that could use a line at some point in the future is Rideau St/Montreal Road, and yes an Ottawa-Gatineau loop for sure. It's too bad there wasn't a cost effective way to build the transitway through the dense neighbourhoods instead of around them when it was first built.

I am not sure about now but I know that with the previous plan an LRT (that is trams on surface streets) was planned for Rideau/Montreal Road. I think since then it has taken a back seat so who knows what will happen. Probably not much for a while. A surface tram isnt a bad idea for Bank, but with only two lanes of traffic I am not sure how well it would function. Would be cool looking at the very least.

On good thing about the NCC nixing the plans for LRT on the Ottawa Parkway is now it forces the line to deviate off the transitway somewhere around Tunneys Pasture or Westboro Station and probably head down a Richmond Road alignment. It won't be cheap but it will hit some allready urban neighborhoods and fuel development even higher in that area.

 

[gweed123]

I am not sure about now but I know that with the previous plan an LRT (that is trams on surface streets) was planned for Rideau/Montreal Road. I think since then it has taken a back seat so who knows what will happen. Probably not much for a while. A surface tram isnt a bad idea for Bank, but with only two lanes of traffic I am not sure how well it would function. Would be cool looking at the very least.

I would think an Eglinton-style underground LRT would be more appropriate for this area, and merging with the South Transitway at Herongate. By the time that line would open, CFL football would be back at Frank Clair, and a station in that area would be a huge help for crowds (I would think Glebe residents would support the project on that basis alone, considering how much they hate people parking in their neighbourhood for events at Lansdowne Park).

On good thing about the NCC nixing the plans for LRT on the Ottawa Parkway is now it forces the line to deviate off the transitway somewhere around Tunneys Pasture or Westboro Station and probably head down a Richmond Road alignment. It won't be cheap but it will hit some allready urban neighborhoods and fuel development even higher in that area.

Too bad they couldn't just use the old Britannia Beach streetcar corridor, it runs directly beside Richmond for a good stretch. Aside from a few small parks and open spaces that have been placed there, the corridor is still relatively intact.

 

[AnarchoSocialist]

I would think an Eglinton-style underground LRT would be more appropriate for this area, and merging with the South Transitway at Herongate. By the time that line would open, CFL football would be back at Frank Clair, and a station in that area would be a huge help for crowds (I would think Glebe residents would support the project on that basis alone, considering how much they hate people parking in their neighbourhood for events at Lansdowne Park).

I think you could justify the cost of tunnelling through Centretown but in the Glebe and Old Ottawa South I am not so sure about. After the Queensway I am not sure if the ridership would be there and those two neighborhoods are not exactly the most open to new development. Its a nice thought still.

bad they couldn't just use the old Britannia Beach streetcar corridor, it runs directly beside Richmond for a good stretch. Aside from a few small parks and open spaces that have been placed there, the corridor is still relatively intact.

Between the corridor and the increasing width of Richmond once you leave Westboro it wouldn't be too hard to find room for an LRT line. The biggest challenge will be how to keep it grade separated. Do you make it a trench all the way? At grade with the road except when it dips under major streets? If it's at grade how many streets will end up getting cut off? They will almost certainly have to tunnel a small section from the Transitway to a part of Richmond where it could resurface. I believe they are starting the EA for this project now so it will be interesting to see what ideas they come up with.

 

[W. K. Lis]

A few reasons why Ottawa wants to replace their bus rapid transit with light rail:

 

[AnarchoSocialist]

^I remember that day. That is probably the most extreme example of how backed up the buses can get. I cant remember if they were lined up all the way to Hurdman (they may have gotten to that point) but I remember it being lined up from Lees. I also remember waiting 10 minutes and moving maybe 3 bus lengths before the driver decided to open the doors and let people off so they could just walk.

There are lots of daily examples of how it is over-capacity. It often takes 10 minutes or more just to go from Metcalfe to Rideau (there are no stops in between and it is a distance of maybe 500m at most). Yesterday while waiting at LeBreton I watched as every other regular service bus skipped the stop because they were already to full. They could easily gain more riders if they added more buses, the demand is there, but they can't because the system cant handle it.

BRT was still the smartest choice for the system at the time, and it worked really well for a long time. But the city has no choice now but to move to LRT. When the last proposal, which was days away from shovels in the ground, was cancelled, most people assumed it would be another 10 years before anything happened. I knew it would be 3 or 4 years at most before a better proposal was underway because the system was already struggling at the time and becomes more strained each year.

 

[Justin10000]

Wow! So I guess the myth "Bus can bypass each other" is blown out of the water! I thought the Brisbane backup was bad.

 

[The Mad Navigator]

I see the Geotech and HydroG investigations have recently begun for the tunnel, but when will track work on the line begin? I assume next year?

Congrats to Ottawa for getting this off the ground, and soon to be "on."

 

[taal]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ottawa runs a lot of bus routes that overlap a huge amount (not saying this is a bad thing) - by that I mean a lot of them will go along one central street and branch out to many many different routes?

 

[AnarchoSocialist]

I see the Geotech and HydroG investigations have recently begun for the tunnel, but when will track work on the line begin? I assume next year?

Congrats to Ottawa for getting this off the ground, and soon to be "on."

I think Late Spring 2011 is when it is planned to begin, but that is just what I remember off the top of my head. I also recall that the Train Station Transitway realignment was going to be done as a project independent of the rest of the LRT plan. I am not sure if this is still the case since I don't see any independent EAs for it.

Once I get a new digital camera I should be able to provide some good updates. I live in the Old LeBreton Flats neighborhood so I am a 5 minute walk from what is becoming the most active construction site in the city. It will also be the transit tunnels western entrance so it is going to be great fun to walk by everyday.

 

[Darwinkgo]

I see the Geotech and HydroG investigations have recently begun for the tunnel, but when will track work on the line begin? I assume next year?

Congrats to Ottawa for getting this off the ground, and soon to be "on."

2013 for tunneling according to the public schedules. Likely will have alternative project delivery however so no real certainty but the end date.

 

[waterloowarrior]

^I remember that day. That is probably the most extreme example of how backed up the buses can get. I cant remember if they were lined up all the way to Hurdman (they may have gotten to that point) but I remember it being lined up from Lees. I also remember waiting 10 minutes and moving maybe 3 bus lengths before the driver decided to open the doors and let people off so they could just walk.

There are lots of daily examples of how it is over-capacity. It often takes 10 minutes or more just to go from Metcalfe to Rideau (there are no stops in between and it is a distance of maybe 500m at most). Yesterday while waiting at LeBreton I watched as every other regular service bus skipped the stop because they were already to full. They could easily gain more riders if they added more buses, the demand is there, but they can't because the system cant handle it.

BRT was still the smartest choice for the system at the time, and it worked really well for a long time. But the city has no choice now but to move to LRT. When the last proposal, which was days away from shovels in the ground, was cancelled, most people assumed it would be another 10 years before anything happened. I knew it would be 3 or 4 years at most before a better proposal was underway because the system was already struggling at the time and becomes more strained each year.

There are still some things they can do to increase capacity I think... a big one would be no cash fares on the Transitway (with ticket machines at each station...) and more platforms that corresponded to your bus instead of people scrambling trying to find what order their bus will be.

I am just hoping it happens.... and they don't hit the reset button yet again if there is a new mayor.

 

[AnarchoSocialist]

There are still some things they can do to increase capacity I think... a big one would be no cash fares on the Transitway (with ticket machines at each station...) and more platforms that corresponded to your bus instead of people scrambling trying to find what order their bus will be.

I am just hoping it happens.... and they don't hit the reset button yet again if there is a new mayor.

I know that double decker buses were one idea they tried to increase capacity. Basically increase the capacity of a bus without increasing the length (like the articulated ones) and be able to add more capacity that way. While the double deckers are cool, I don't think they have worked as planned.

They also added a rule that the first 4 buses pulling into a downtown station would allow boarding. You had to board the bus when it was in one of these positions (in other words no waiting where the first bus pulls in and waving it down once it gets to that point). It has worked somewhat. Most of these are just stop gap solutions though.