Category: LRT

Booth St, Confederation Line, Ottawa, Pimisi Station

Wandering around the west side (ii) the historic aqueduct

Westsideaction

Wandering around the west side by foot and by bike reveals new wonders perhaps missed because the summer heat made me slothful. Here’s the stone walls along most of the aqueduct through LeBreton Flats. They were restored / rebuilt about 20 years ago, but the City sorta benignly neglected to maintain the bank sides and landscaping ever since. Many of the trees have died (for lack of water, since they were planted in giant “pockets” underlain with impermeable fabric so the roots can’t get to the water table). The view below is from the new Booth Freeway overpass, which offers never-before-seen … Continue reading Wandering around the west side (ii) the historic aqueduct

Confederation Line, LeBreton Flats, Pimisi Station2 Comments

Wandering around the west side (i) view into Pimisi Station

Westsideaction

The soaring overpass on the Booth Freeway provides a nice pedestrian view down into the future Pimisi (formerly LeBreton) Station on the Confederation LRT Line. This pic shows all the footings for the foundations, one floor below track level. Pimisi … Continue reading Wandering around the west side (i) view into Pimisi Station

Bronson, Carling Ave, Confederation Line, cycling in Ottawa, design, Ottawa, pedestrians, road diet, roads, Scott street, sidewalks, streetscaping, Transit, Trees8 Comments

Yes you can, Mr Mayor

Westsideaction

John Turner and Jim Watson have lots in common. In a crisis, both  claim they can’t do something. It didn’t work out well for Mr Turner. So people get killed moving about in Ottawa. Anyone looking at the traffic fatalities knows … Continue reading Yes you can, Mr Mayor

Albert St, bike path, Booth St, Cdn War Museum, Confederation Line, cycling in Ottawa, DCA, LeBreton Flats, Ottawa, pedestrians, roads, Transit12 Comments

About those not-quite-bike-lanes on Booth Freeway

Westsideaction

There are certain facts of life we have to deal with today, even if we regret how things came to be that way. I wont rehash how Booth Street north of Albert, going through LeBreton Flats, came to be designed … Continue reading About those not-quite-bike-lanes on Booth Freeway

900 Albert, Bayview, Bayview Station, City Centre, LeBreton Flats, OTrain bike path, Ottawa, Scott street, Trillium Line9 Comments

1871 Railway turntable uncovered on LeBreton Flats

Westsideaction

In addition to a 1871 roundhouse turntable, parts of a 1883 roundhouse have also been uncovered on LeBreton Flats near Bayview Station. The archaeological dig covers some city land where the Trillium OTrain line and Trillium multi-user pathway is located, and … Continue reading 1871 Railway turntable uncovered on LeBreton Flats

bike path, Claridge, condos, cycling in Ottawa, design, intensificatioin, LeBreton Flats, O-Train, OTrain bike path, parks, pedestrians, sidewalks, Transit, Trillium Line, walkways1 Comment

Bit of new west side Trillium MUP opens

Westsideaction

The existing Trillium multi user pathway (MUP) on the EAST side of the OTrain tracks has been a hit with the commuting and recreational public. Its popularity grows weekly. Less well known is the planning “win” when the community obliged … Continue reading Bit of new west side Trillium MUP opens

Bayview Station, Confederation Line1 Comment

Wandering around the Hoodoos of Bayview …

Westsideaction

If you associate hoodoos with Alberta, or maybe New Brunswick, or the American Southwest, be advised you can see something similar right here in Ottawa. At the new Bayview Station construction site. Our hoodoos are about two stories tall and encrusted with local roadbed base. And there is more than one: The hoodoos are created by forces of nature called RTG. Using massive forces, RTG drills holes in the ground, lines the hole with a steel pipe, and pumps in liquified rock (aka concrete) . Since the containing steel cylinder form is withdrawn at the same time as the rock … Continue reading Wandering around the Hoodoos of Bayview …

O-Train, Ottawa, Trillium Line9 Comments

Helen Gault Pole relocated

Westsideaction

A familiar old feature to west siders and OTrain users is no more. We shall miss it (not). Sniff sniff. When the original OTrain (now, Trillium Line OTrain) was built back in 2001, city staff were under pressure to do the demonstration project on a shoestring budget. I gather from old hands that were present back then, that a decision was made by Helen Gault at the city to route the track around an existing utility pole in the middle of the field. This was done to avoid the cost of moving said pole. Again, old hands tell me that … Continue reading Helen Gault Pole relocated

Confederation Line, design, downtown, Lyon Street, pedestrians

Queen Street wrap-up : for people who walk

Westsideaction

The raison d’etre for the Queen Street reconstruction and streetscaping is to enlarge the sidewalks enough to carry all the people walking to and from the new subway entrances. All the entrances are on one street, the originally planned ones on other streets were value engineered out of existence. That there is some access from other streets is strictly courtesy of private-property access: through the Clarica Buildings lobby from Albert Street, or the underground concourse at Place de Ville (but not 240 Sparks or Constitution Square or Minto Place). A principle Lyon Station entrance is through the Podium Building, shown below.  The … Continue reading Queen Street wrap-up : for people who walk