Category: cyclopiste de preston

bike path, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, O-Train14 Comments

The O-Train bike path

Westsideaction

For some time the City has been working on a multi-user path — MUP — (aka “bike path”) from the Ottawa River beside the Prince of Wales Bridge, south to the Bayview Station O-train platform, then south behind City Centre to the new underpass under Somerset Street, then slightly uphill to an at-grade crossing of Gladstone, thence behind the City signals yard, St Anthony Soccer Club parking lot, under the Qway, and joining the existing NCC path along the east side of the OTrain cut right to Carling Station. The reconstruction plan for Carling includes a signalized crossing of Carling for the MUP. At a … Continue reading The O-Train bike path

Albert St, Bayview Otrain, bike path, bikewest, Carling Ave, City Centre, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, design, Gladstone, LRT, NCC, O-Train, oc Transpo, OLRT, parks, Scott street, surface water, Uncategorized6 Comments

Planning the O-Train bike path

Westsideaction

Okay, so it’s not really a “bike path”, the City doesn’t have any of those. We have MUPs, or Multi User Paths, which are shared by cyclists, dog walkers, parents with wailers, grannies with yappers, kids alone,  etc. (It makes an interesting contrast: on roads, cyclists are told to play nicely with cars, buses, and tractor-trailers going 70km; off road, cyclists are sent to play with various pedestrian folks). I’m on the PAC (public advisory committee) for the O-Train path that will eventually run from the Ottawa River pathways south to Dow’s Lake. The City will construct the section from Bayview Station to Somerset (or maybe … Continue reading Planning the O-Train bike path

bike path, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, O-Train, somerset street, Uncategorized5 Comments

Tunnel goes underground

Westsideaction

Faithful readers will have seen earlier posts showing the excavation under the Somerset Viaduct, the placing of the new multi-user path underpass precast sections, and most recently, their waterproofing. Here’s what’s been happening lately: This version of the Canadarm pumps cement right to where the workers want it, when cement mixers cannot get close enough. The arm reached right over the hole, and down the outside of the viaduct walls, to pump cement into reinforcing walls on the exterior of the viaduct: Meanwhile, on the inside of the viaduct, workers installed the last of the tunnel waterproofing and drainage pipes, and … Continue reading Tunnel goes underground

cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, O-Train, somerset street2 Comments

Update on Somerset bike underpass

Westsideaction

Recall that a bike underpass is being constructed where Somerset crosses the O-Train tracks. Once the tunnel sections were installed, bolted together, then the roof had to be waterproofed: A red coating was painted onto the concrete using rollers. Then workers attached Blueskin to cover each joint between the precast tunnel sections. Quite a rough chopped out hole was made through the 12′ thick Somerset viaduct walls for the tunnel pieces to fit. That space was reinforced, rebars tidied up, and pumped full of cement, now making a handy tool shelf for the workers: At the south end of the tunnel, a worker is starting … Continue reading Update on Somerset bike underpass

bike path, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, somerset street6 Comments

Somerset tunnel: inside view

Westsideaction

The new pedestrian-cyclist tunnel under Somerset Street is now complete except for waterproofing and filling in the hole above it. Here are some shots taken from the top edge (Somerset street level) into the hole: The above picture is looking north; the one below is a steeper angle showing the south portion: In pictures on previous posts this week, I showed the holes the run through each tunnel segment. A threaded rod was inserted through the holes, from one end of the tunnel to the other, and then the city tightened a nut at each end, tensioning the pieces together. Here is … Continue reading Somerset tunnel: inside view

cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, O-Train2 Comments

First tunnel segments go under Somerset

Westsideaction

Recall that there is a pedestrian-cyclist tunnel under construction. The tunnel will take users under Somerset Street, parallel to the O-Train. Segments of the pre-cast tunnel were delivered today. Each giant precast block of concrete has a female and male “end”. There are holes cast in the tunnel segments to tie them all together and some holes in the sides which will have pins that hold them to the concrete reataining walls of the viaduct. The first piece installed is the north portal. It got its inside leading edge a bit crumbled in the process (visible on the far left of … Continue reading First tunnel segments go under Somerset

bike path, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, somerset street2 Comments

How to ride a bike through Thick cement

Westsideaction

Recall that the new O-Train corridor cycling path parallels the tracks on their east side. To get under Somerset Street, the City is constructing a new underpass for the multi-user path. The north portal has been cut out; here is the view from the top of the hole in Somerset:  Notice how thick is the base of the wall of the viaduct. There is no further foundation — the wall just bulbs out and rests on the dirt. It reminds me of those blocks sold to hold up decks — rather than digging a deep hole and filling it up with cement, … Continue reading How to ride a bike through Thick cement

bike path, Bronson, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, design, O-Train, pedestrians, sidewalks, somerset street1 Comment

My rules vs your rules

Westsideaction

Yes, dealing with the City (and the BIA’s, the Community Associations, the Councilors, neighbours… you name it) can be frustrating. I persevere, joining traffic studies and public advisory committees because sometimes we “win”, ie speaking up effects a change or improvement in a project. But it can be terribly frustrating. The City is an impenetrable maze of rules and standards for any occasion. Too many times to count we are told “you can’t have that” because it violates some engineering code, or bylaw, or whatever. Only to turn around and see that violation employed somewhere else or to get the … Continue reading My rules vs your rules

bike path, Chinatown, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, roads, somerset street

Road improvement only temporary

Westsideaction

The City repaved Somerset west of Preston this morning. Don’t get too excited though. It’s just short term improvement change followed by more disruption. The section of Somerset further west, near Bayswater, is not ready for paving yet. The newly paved section will be striped next week as a two-way cul-de-sac street, ending at Musca’s. There will be no vehicular traffic, east or west, over the O-Train bridge, starting in August. The road will be completely dug out to insert a new underpass, for the north-south cycling route that parallels the east side of the O-train corridor. The contractor will keep … Continue reading Road improvement only temporary

bike path, bikewest, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, NCC, parks, Uncategorized, WalkSpace4 Comments

Get Lost

Westsideaction

This post was originally written for Spacing Ottawa, www.spacingottawa.ca, and is reprinted here in case you are so negligent you do not subscribe to that site. You should have read it there! Spacing deals with geography across Canada; Spacing Ottawa deals with geography in Ottawa. WSA, of course, is a smaller focus on the neighborhoods on the  west side of the downtown. But it’s all geography! There is some new content at the bottom of the post. ________________________ As an urban society, we have to shift our focus away from exclusively serving motor vehicles as the norm, and towards serving people, regardless … Continue reading Get Lost

Bayview Otrain, bike path, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, O-Train1 Comment

O-Train Cycle Path makes progress

Westsideaction

A version of this post appeared earlier this week at www.SpacingOttawa.ca. ______________________________________________________ The City has an amazing bureaucratic machine. It spends most of its time and resources promising, planning, and budgeting. All of that mental heavy lifting seems to leave it quite exhausted, but, sometimes, just sometimes, it surprises by making something actually appear “on the ground”. There is a multipurpose path (MUP) (aka a bike path) proposed to run along side the O-Train corridor. Parts of it, south of Young Street, have existed since 1963. This year, Council decided to fund an underpass under Somerset, which is the last big … Continue reading O-Train Cycle Path makes progress

801 Albert, Albert St, Bayview, Bayview Otrain, bike path, bikewest, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, design, DOTT, LeBreton Flats, O-Train, OLRT, ottawa river, Prince of Wales Bridge, sidewalks, Transit, Uncategorized10 Comments

LRT Stations: (part iii) Bayview Station

Westsideaction

The Bayview Station is quite complex to describe compared to Tunney’s or Hurdman. Basically, it is a long thin platform built atop an earthen embankment, pretty much where the bus shelters are now. But rather than have sloping pedestrian paths connect to the O-train platform about 16′ lower down, under the overpasses, the City proposes to build an escalator connection at the west end of the new platform that takes users directly down to the O-Train platform. This is a great development for users that transfer.  What complicates the Bayview Station is that it is in the middle of an … Continue reading LRT Stations: (part iii) Bayview Station

bike path, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, NCC, O-Train2 Comments

Janus the snowplower

Westsideaction

Whilst out walking last week, I noticed an interesting difference in City pathway plowing. From Beech south to Carling, the multi-use path (a MUP, in city jargon; a bike path to the rest of us) gets plowed. Presumably this is because of the O-Train station at Carling: The O-Train path is always gorgeous, lined (for now) with forty year old trees and established green verges bordering the stonedust path. But turn the other way, look north, and Janus does not plow it at all: It is still a city path — oops, MUP. The NCC stoop-and-scoop sign is a leftover from the … Continue reading Janus the snowplower

125 Hickory, 500 Preston, bike path, condos, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, Dows Lake, intensificatioin, little Italy, LRT, O-Train, pedestrians, Preston street, Soho Italia, Uncategorized20 Comments

Soho Italia – the developer’s proposal

Westsideaction

 Note: the land on the south side of Carling on each side of the O-train corridor is shown as green space. It is NOT parkland. The City’s Official Plan calls for this area along Carling to be developed as a high-density mixed-use centre, ie more condos and offices.  The facade of the podium facing Preston appears to have a fair bit of glass. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a Photoshop rendering of this facade. How the building relates to the street is very important for a livable street. In the background of the above picture you can spot the 125 Hickory … Continue reading Soho Italia – the developer’s proposal

125 Hickory, 855 Carling, Bayview-Carling CDP, bike path, Claridge, condos, cyclopiste de preston, Dows Lake, intensificatioin, O-Train, Preston street19 Comments

Highest High Rise

Westsideaction

Starwood Mastercraft was an Ottawa builder decades ago, got more active in Toronto, and is now back in Ottawa building condos on Parkdale (north of Scott), Lisgar (old Canus plastics site), Champagne at Hickory (a few feet west of the O-Train, near the dog shelter). They also bought the site at Preston and Sydney and are proposing a condo tower there. As predicted, they are asking for a 35 storey condo tower, which would be the tallest in Ottawa. Taller than Tower C, Place de Ville; taller than the Metropole on Lanark/Scott. Like the rush of downtown applications by Claridge for 28 storey condos on tiny lots, … Continue reading Highest High Rise

Bayview-Carling CDP, condos, cyclopiste de preston, design, Gladstone, housing policy, intensificatioin, LRT, O-Train, parks, plant recreation centre, Plouffe Park, Preston street, Uncategorized, woonerf10 Comments

Planning Exercise (ii)

Westsideaction

There is a large parcel of land owned by the Feds. It runs from Somerset Street to Gladstone, on the east side of the OTrain corridor. At the Somerset end, it has the address 1010 Somerset Street; at the Gladstone end it is 943 Gladstone; in the middle it has an Oak Street address. Most of the site is covered with a giant brick and concrete warehouse dating from the Second World War era. Before that, it was open field, my father tells me he attended the Ringling Circus there when he was a boy in the ’30’s. The circus arrived … Continue reading Planning Exercise (ii)

bike path, bikewest, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, Laurier Ave, Uncategorized4 Comments

Cycling routes – part of roads? or sidewalks? or all on their own?

Westsideaction

Timo Perala spoke at the CFSC agm on Tuesday evening. One point he made about cycling infrastructure in Oulu, Finland, got me thinking again about how cycling infrastructure should be regarded. In Copenhagen, cycling tracks are adjacent the curb, with parking lanes out closer to the traffic lanes. Cyclists cross intersections in two stages, like pedestrians, rather than in one left-turn movement like cars. This is the model Bedard liked after his trip to Copenhagen, and I earlier blogged about how I thought Vivi Chi liked this one too as it can be implemented consistently throughout an urban area. Although how she could fit this onto the freshly … Continue reading Cycling routes – part of roads? or sidewalks? or all on their own?

bike path, cyclopiste de preston, little Italy3 Comments

Highway to nowhere

Westsideaction

The city’s roads department has its signals branch located on Gladstone on either side of the O-Train cut. The yards are full of signal poles and light fixtures. Mostly these lights are “out” at night; but one recent evening there were multiple heads cycling through red-yellow-green.  Immediately behind them is a dense patch of bush, through which a ped path winds that will someday become the cycling path along the Otrain corridor. Continue reading Highway to nowhere

bike path, cyclopiste de preston, little Italy

Highway to nowhere

Westsideaction

The city’s roads department has its signals branch located on Gladstone on either side of the O-Train cut. The yards are full of signal poles and light fixtures. Mostly these lights are “out” at night; but one recent evening there were multiple heads cycling through red-yellow-green.  Immediately behind them is a dense patch of bush, through which a ped path winds that will someday become the cycling path along the Otrain corridor. Continue reading Highway to nowhere

Bayview-Carling CDP, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, LRT, NCC, O-Train5 Comments

Bushwacking for cyclists

Westsideaction

Last week a group of concerned citizens participated with the City and its consultants on the routing exercise for the O-Train corridor cycling path (cyclopiste de Preston). Participants represented the NCC, Dalhousie and Hintonburg Community Associations, CfSC and Cycle Vision Ottawa members, a landscape architect, engineer, planner, and others. The cycling arterial will connect the Ottawa River cycling paths to the Otrain at Bayview, run along the tracks behind the City Centre complex, under Somerset via a new underpass, behind the PWGSC complex at 1010 Somerset, and come out at ground level again at Gladstone. Then a short overground stretch … Continue reading Bushwacking for cyclists

Bayview-Carling CDP, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, LRT, NCC, O-Train

Bushwacking for cyclists

Westsideaction

Last week a group of concerned citizens participated with the City and its consultants on the routing exercise for the O-Train corridor cycling path (cyclopiste de Preston). Participants represented the NCC, Dalhousie and Hintonburg Community Associations, CfSC and Cycle Vision Ottawa members, a landscape architect, engineer, planner, and others. The cycling arterial will connect the Ottawa River cycling paths to the Otrain at Bayview, run along the tracks behind the City Centre complex, under Somerset via a new underpass, behind the PWGSC complex at 1010 Somerset, and come out at ground level again at Gladstone. Then a short overground stretch … Continue reading Bushwacking for cyclists