When the Ottawa Humane Society left Champagne Avenue there was some sort of contractual agreement they had to offer the land to the city. For parkland. Nothing said the city had to buy it. So they didn’t. And as a … Continue reading City sleeps while mystery bridge decays
After years of seeing Photoshop planning drool shots of LRT equipment at downtown stations… … one LRT almost made it. Shown here is a LRT at Campus Station earlier this week, immediately east of the downtown. The Campus Station itself … Continue reading LRT spotted almost downtown
Am I paranormal? Do I see opportunities where others (for eg, the City) see nothing? Are the skeptics about government right when they charge it cannot miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity? In the three short weeks since I … Continue reading When Opportunity knocks …
Recall that Booth Street between Albert Street and Wellington Street (out by the War Museum) was rebuilt with a grand overpass over the new LRT line. Before it was built, the design was hotly contested by local communities and advocacy … Continue reading Fixing the Booth Freeway fiasco
A few years ago the NCC decided to permit all-day parking at certain NCC lots, so that commuters could drive part way to work, then bicycle the rest of the way. Exercise = good. At first, these park and ride … Continue reading Park and Ride
I stopped to read the new fare dispensing machines at the Carling Station, Trillium Line. They have an abundance of fare-acceptance mechanisms. Cash, coins, credit card readers, credit card taps, presto cards, bar-coded transfers… plus surveillance and communication cameras? monitor? … Continue reading Tickets, please
So the city “wants” to extend the Trillium Line south a bit further, almost but not quite to Riverside South suburb. Alas, it can’t afford the cost. Sob. Sob. Let me suggest that it is eminently affordable, the city has … Continue reading Incrementalizing the OTrain
It is a delight to see the new Bayview and Pimisi Stations taken more “user friendly” shape with the erection of steel framework for the passenger facilities. The stations will signal to the wider community that rail transit is coming … Continue reading Colourful effort
Picture standing on a rail platform in some interesting place. Off in the distance is the tunnel portal where the train appears. It is a pleasant and amusing scene that caught everyone’s attention on this platform. above: Varenna station, Italy. Do … Continue reading See the train coming out of the tunnel? Maybe not.
The west portal of the new downtown transit tunnel is on LeBreton Flats, immediately west of Bronson. For two years, looking down from Commissioner Street into the excavation revealed only a steep slope going down underground. It was a road, … Continue reading Building a tunnel from the outside in
The new Confederation Line LRT is getting mostly new stuff all along its route. New stations, new tracks, new signals, new bridges. Here is a pic of the west portal. The new library will go immediately to the right. To … Continue reading Reusing old stuff for the new LRT
Cyclists and pedestrians that use the ever-more-popular Trillium pathway have enjoyed experienced many detours and perambulations over the last two years. Probably most frustrating has been the circuitous routings for those trying to get to or from the Ottawa River … Continue reading Trillium pathway to River to reopen
Where were you when the lights went out last Tuesday? And where will you be if they go out again? Was it just last Tuesday that I left the Carnegie Library on Rosemont Avenue and browsed flowers at the Parkdale Market? … Continue reading Where were you when the lights went out?
As a city, we lack much experience integrating medical facilities and transit. The old Civic bus stops are way out on Carling Avenue, definitely not designed for user convenience, and co-located with year-round curbside puddles and offering free salt washes all … Continue reading A new Civic and that Trillium Connection
There are two interesting (well, to some of us …) takeaways from regarding the landscaping starting around Bayview Station. First, that the landscaping is underway while major construction continues. But as soon as a patch of ground is finished active … Continue reading Pedestrians protected from overland flooding
I was standing on the Booth Street Freeway overpass at Pimisi Station looking east towards the downtown. The Rideau Transportation Group — RTG — is constructing the western portal to the downtown tunnel. This spot is right behind the new … Continue reading When dogs count more than peeps
Remember the old rock and stone block retaining wall along the Bronson Escarpment; the one that holds up the parking lot for the Juliana Apartments? It was getting to the point that the iron tie-back hooks were no longer working … Continue reading Fake Stone Walls
There is much to see looking into the transitway trench near Holland Avenue. The track is being laid for the Confederation Line LRT. In this picture (below) you can see the concrete overlay over the big concrete box-shaped storm sewer … Continue reading Under the Transitway Big Tent
The story here earlier this week on the the next phase of the Trillium MUP got 1732 views, which indicates to me a keen public interest in expanded cycling and walking infrastructure. ** My colleague Richard Eade has some more … Continue reading More on Trillium MUP, phase 3
The City has released some updated renderings of what some of the new stations along the Confederation Line will look like. As always, keep in mind these are artist impressions and reality may differ. Also don’t look too closely, as … Continue reading New Confederation Line Station renderings
The elevated portions of the Confederation LRT Line west of Bayview Station are on a high viaduct. Throughout its life as a transitway there were concrete side walls along the road. These may have been to stop debris from blowing … Continue reading Elevated Confederation Line safety
The old transitway viaduct near Bayview Station is being converted to rail for the Confederation line. I was curious to see the contractor, RTG, drill holes in the jersey-barrier type concrete sidewalls along the roadway. They used the holes … Continue reading Elevated Confederation Line noise
In a story earlier this week I enthused about the McRae Avenue progressing from blah to an attractive Transit Oriented Development. Did I speak too soon? Is the city trying to thwart TOD before it can leave the cradle?? Here’s … Continue reading Shooting TOD in the cradle
As a society, we take it for granted that there is a lot of car infrastructure around. But we built most of it from scratch, at great expense. When that money came in the form of grants from higher levels … Continue reading Making better use of existing infrastructure
Recall that the Confederation Line will extend westward to Lincoln Fields, maybe by 2023. From there, the line will split with one pair of tracks running on to Baseline Station, and the other going to Bayshore. Of necessity, therefore, only every … Continue reading Track splitting on the Phase 2 LRT lines
