Ottawa skeptics doubt that we need a downtown transit tunnel. They focus too much on the initial capital cost of the tunnel. A better comparison is to alternative ways to run transit through downtown Ottawa for the next century. Continue reading Tunnel please, no shades of gray
There’s a big hubabaloo in the Centre of the Universe ™ about arrests without cause (just being in Toronto should have been enough cause for criminal prosecution). Here in Ottawa, we have our own cryptic crimes ™ — see sign above along the “virtual LRT line” (as bus rapid transit is now being rebranded in some cities). What is the offence? The fine is known, and it indicates the city has its revenue enhancement priorities straight. Safety considerations seem to have been let fade away, however. Continue reading Unknown offence
There’s a big hubabaloo in the Centre of the Universe ™ about arrests without cause (just being in Toronto should have been enough cause for criminal prosecution). Here in Ottawa, we have our own cryptic crimes ™ — see sign above along the “virtual LRT line” (as bus rapid transit is now being rebranded in some cities). What is the offence? The fine is known, and it indicates the city has its revenue enhancement priorities straight. Safety considerations seem to have been let fade away, however. Continue reading Unknown offence
This photo is from the 1950’s, looking west along Somerset. The road rises up on the viaduct to cross the CPR tracks. Lots of industrial land uses are visible in the distance. The residences in the foreground have abundant tree shade and shelter from the “busy” street. The Plant Pool is out of sight on the immediate left of the picture. Continue reading Somerset, old and new
This photo is from the 1950’s, looking west along Somerset. The road rises up on the viaduct to cross the CPR tracks. Lots of industrial land uses are visible in the distance. The residences in the foreground have abundant tree shade and shelter from the “busy” street. The Plant Pool is out of sight on the immediate left of the picture. Continue reading Somerset, old and new
Shown below is the Queensway, typical autumn mid-afternoon volume. Shown below, the transitway. I gather that the transitway carries the same volume of passengers each year as does the Qway. Which one would you rather have cutting through your neighborhood? Look again at the land take of the Qway, smell the fumes! Yup, I think I prefer the transitway. And I will even more appreciate when it is converted to electric LRT service. The city is going to grow … do we bitch forever about the cost of transit and continue to ignore the 10-20x larger expenditure on roads for … Continue reading A matter of Choice …
This photo is taken on Somerset Street in front of the Plant Pool, looking east up the hill into the heart of the Little Italy district which is now Chinatown. Preston runs left – right across the photo. The Rainbow grill on the corner of Preston and Somerset is now May’s Chinese restaurant. The Atlas tire billboard is now Frisby tires. The buildings on the far left corner of the intersection houses Azar Signs amongst other businesses. The buildings burned down in the late 60’s I think. At that time, my elderly Italian neighbor once told me, one of them … Continue reading Rapid Transit in the 1950’s
Detroit’s downtown city bus station This photo is of a new centre-island transit station in Detroit. Detroit is not the most viable city in the USA. We’re not Flint … nor Detroit. Will Ottawa’s LRT system get anything as nice? It has a tensile fabric outdoor shelter at the bus loading platforms and there is also a elevated people-mover station platform. The air conditioned and heated glass waiting room building is 25,000 sq ft, includes washrooms, ticketing, and shops. The whole thing cost $22 million dollars, and opened in June 09. And here’s the kicker: the entire terminal complex serves about 12,000 passengers … Continue reading Transit Stations … What will we get? …
The usual suspects are carping about the transit tunnel, again. Did the province provide funding? Apparently no good news is good enough — they didn’t provide 15-25% more than was asked for … so it’s disaster time. Ring-a-ling. Ding-a-ling. It’s disaster time in the city … So what might happen if the tunnel portion was cancelled? Critics are quick to attach huge price tags to the tunnel portion. But these won’t disappear if the tunnel is cancelled. After all the tunnel includes tracks (won’t these be needed for the surface rail?); it includes stations and platforms (which will be needed … Continue reading Transit Tunnel is no Turkey
The City is busy paring back bus services. Residents in the Preston area are probably glad to get back to having the No 3 on Preston again. And in the spring, the bus stops will again have shelters, benches, and trees for shade. Once the bus transitway is converted to LRT service (sheduled for 2017 or so) then the no 3 bus route will follow Preston to Albert to Booth Street and the LeBreton LRT station, then over to Gatineau. It will no longer go to downtown Ottawa. Riders on the north-south routes will be taken to rapid transit stations … Continue reading Future of No 3 bus route
Metropolis Magazine has a short article about how badly Las Vegas botched its monorail system. Burried in the article the careful listener might hear some warning sounds about the joys of un-amalgamated cities or urban planning districts that fail to include major sectors (who knew the Las Vegas strip is not part of Las Vegas City and is in fact unincorporated?). The double-decker buses on the strip are a success though. I last rode them a few years ago, and there were crowds of people at every stop. Most of them had never ridden a bus in their adult lives, and … Continue reading Transit woes worse than Ottawa ?
Proposed modernist Bayview LRT station is elevated and long. The proposed STO bus terminal would be off the left. Click to enlarge photo. Planning in a Federal capital region is not just about good planning on utilitarian “planning’ terms. A good chunk of it is political planning and symbolism too. In the past, separatist elements in Quebec made hay from the disparate images of the Quebec side of the river (low rise, lower income housing, industrial mills) and the Ottawa side of the river (shiny high rises set high on a green hill). They drew a direct line to the … Continue reading NCC to Quebecers: Back [on the] Bus
The old Baseline transitway station has been retired, replaced by one immediately to the west. The old location will become the site of new building with the transitway underneath it. The glazing was removed from the station shelters and the steel is being scrapped. The shelters are 25+ years old and not worth relocating. Demolition of the concrete central structure at the station. Steel and concrete and asphalt are separated for recyling. The new station has side platforms rather than a centre-island design. A regular user of the station told me this morning that she much prefers the new side … Continue reading Goodbye Baseline Station
Bus shelters can quickly become background items we seldom notice. A few years ago, I noticed some advertising firms converted a whole shelter into an advert, or built a roof structure that totally modified the appearance of the shelter.– Around Ottawa, we have seen the Casino de Lac Lemy ads that convert a glass shelter into a Carribean-looking poker hut.– I enjoyed this shelter, in Toronto, with fake frost on the windows and snow on the roof. It’s part of a beer campagin to complete the phrase “colder than…” Continue reading Playing with Bus Shelters
There will be a low-key public meeting at City Hall on Wedn. June 24 from 5.30 to 8pm on the proposed new maintenace facility. No speaches, just poster boards and comment sheets. Recall that on May 27 Council approved the alignment (route) and station locations. The consultants and staff are now working on station design, the BRT to LRT conversion process, construction staging, and how the LRT and BRT will operate once the line opens. Their results will be shown at another open house in Sept. But back to the Maintenance Facility. Planners examined all the site along or near … Continue reading LRT Maintenance Facility Site
One of Ottawa’s older multipurpose developments has a lovely green roof on its south side. This roof is above what was for 30 or so years a shopping mall, but for the last years has been federal government office space. The pond adds an unexpected water element to the downtown, as does the fairly large bright green lawn. It is highly visible, located adjacent to one of the busiest downtown transitway stops at Place de Ville. The glass pyramid lets light into the office area below. It suggests the pyramid glass structure at the Louvre in Paris, but on a … Continue reading Greenroof Example – Pl de Ville
The Bayview Station isn’t part of the original bus transitway; it didn’t exist until 2001. It was built because the experimental O-Train service, using the existing rail tracks, needed a transfer point for passengers. From day 1, city planners assumed it was only a transfer station from buses to train. Little or no walk in traffic was expected. Yet anyone frequenting the station notices a continual stream of people walking into the Station. They come from the office and industrial buildings on City Centre Avenue, the residential areas to the southeast and southwest. They have worn paths accross the fields … Continue reading Bayview Station – What’s It For?
DOTT refers to the Downtown Ottawa Transit Tunnel project. I sit on the public advisory committee, with a particular interest in the LRT project from Bronson to Tunney’s. Under the current plan, Tunney’s will be the main place for bus users from the west to transfer to the LRT trains which will run roughly along the current transitway alignment to Bayview, LeBreton, and the downtown. Eventually the LRT train service will be extended further west to Lincoln Fields. The City has come up with two concepts for how the bus users will transfer to the LRT trains. Keep in mind … Continue reading DOTT – Tunney’s Pasture Transfer Station
